Try the trout

The Dag al Hadan restaurant has earned the reputation for serving the freshest trout – you can’t get any closer from the cool water of the Dan River to the plate on the table.

By ITSIK MAROM
Updated: AUGUST 23, 2017 21:59
The Dag al Hadan restaurant. (photo credit: ITSIK MAROM)
The Dag al Hadan restaurant.
(photo credit: ITSIK MAROM)
The State of Israel is small when compared to almost every other country on the globe, yet so large in so many wonderful ways. The ingenious Israeli people use their creative minds for innovation and use their enterprising hands to make things happen.
In the country’s north, near the Hagoshrim Junction, is a haven-like complex that has developed from a natural source – the cold water of the Dan River. This fresh water originates in the Hermon mountain range and remains cool throughout the year at 16º. These pristine waters can support and sustain trout, which are well known in northern countries, as they require cold water in which to grow. One of these innovative Israeli enterprises is a fish farm called Dag al Hadan (Fish on the Dan).
The trout in this fish farm were brought to the area by the grandfather of Einam Avishai, who manages Dag al Hadan. Einam is the son of the farm’s founders, Yuki and Yuchi. The family-run project was established in 1978 after the parents decided that the other branches of agriculture in the area were saturated.
While expanding and taking full advantage of their resources, another fish that the farm has adopted is sturgeon, which is not kosher.
This fish is also typical to northern regions, as it too needs cold water to live in, making the Dan River a perfect habitat. Developing the project of the long-living sturgeon (more than 200 years) was intended to appeal to the Russian olim in the 1990s. However, the Russian community did not want the fish for its flesh but preferred the fish eggs, known to all as caviar. This expensive delicacy became even more in demand after the collapse of the Soviet Union when sturgeon was hunted to its limit throughout Russia. As the price of caviar skyrocketed worldwide, Dag al Hadan wisely started to produce black caviar from its supply of sturgeon. Its high-quality caviar is considered among the finest in the world and is produced mainly for export to the US (the New York area).
To take full advantage of its base product of trout and sturgeon, the Dag al Hadan restaurant has earned the reputation for serving the freshest trout – you can’t get any closer from the cool water of the Dan River to the plate on the table.
Other areas that Dag al Hadan has developed are camping and kayaking. The same innovative thinking has been applied here, taking maximum advantage of the locale. After a regional fire in the 1970s, the family planted native Israeli trees, which are now fully grown and provide shade and beauty for visitors. This is a welcome complement to the refreshing stream that passes through the complex.
Over the last decade, it has been difficult to ignore the country’s policies that seem to overlook the agriculture and the farmers in Israel.
It’s almost as if the government decided to abandon the important Zionist agriculture imperative by not supporting it and letting it shrink slowly on its own. To make a living in the North, farmers have had to combine tourism, food and agriculture on the same piece of land. Dag al Hadan seems to have the right idea about how to stay in the game.