‘Sunny the Salmon’ Jumps on to Screens in Animated Video

Salmon farmers are celebrating Atlantic Open Farm Day 2020 by launching an animated video of their popular children’s book The Farm on the Sea.

Together with author Deborah Irvine Anderson and illustrator Lindsay Vautour, the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association (ACFFA) has transformed The Farm on the Sea into an engaging cartoon for children and adults alike. The Farm on the Sea video, available in English and French, premiered today. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Atlantic Open Farm Day, slated for Sunday, September 20, went virtual this year.

“We can’t bring people out on the water this year for a farm tour as we usually do,” says Susan Farquharson, Executive Director of ACFFA. “Instead, we invite you to let Sunny the Salmon be your guide on an engaging, animated tour of The Farm on the Sea.”

The Farm on the Sea is the story of a rare blue salmon named Sunny who guides readers through the stages of salmon farming. Since it was published last year, sales of the book have raised $4,800 for food banks, and copies have been requested from as far away as India, England, Australia, Spain, Scotland and Chile.

“The book has been such a hit with kids that it was a natural next step to turn it into an animated video,” says Farquharson. “Farmed salmon is the second biggest agriculture-based export in Atlantic Canada. It rivals the iconic potato; yet, many people have no idea how salmon is farmed. This animation is a terrific way to spark the interest of children – and adults too – in ocean farming. More than half the seafood we eat comes from aquaculture, and people want to know where their food comes from.”

The Farm on the Sea animated video can be viewed here in English and in French. Copies of The Farm on the Sea book are available for purchase at Indigo in Saint John and Moncton and can also be purchased by contacting ACFFA at 506-755-3526 or via email: info@atlanticfishfarmers.com.

The Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association (ACFFA) is an industry-funded association working on behalf of Atlantic Canada’s salmon farming industry in addition to a wide range of service and supply companies and organizations. Salmon farming employs over 8000 people in our region and has a value of over $800 million to provincial economies.

For more information, please contact:

Susan Farquharson
ACFFA Executive Director
506-755-3526
info@atlanticfishfarmers.com