2 Idaho-based trout farms combine in acquisition deal

FILER, Idaho (AP) - Idaho trout farm Riverence Holdings has announced the acquisition of its larger competitor Clear Springs Foods and now controls the majority of the market share in the state.

Riverence founder and television writer David Kelley made the announcement Saturday.

Riverence grows steelhead and rainbow trout eggs in Washington state and raises fish in land-based facilities in Idaho, officials said.

Clear Springs Foods has been producing rainbow trout along the Snake River in southern Idaho for more than 50 years, company officials said.

"We're starting to reimagine the potential of the U.S. trout industry," Clear Springs Foods CEO Jeff Jermunson said. "We are honored to begin the next chapter of our company's long history as part of the Riverence family."

Riverence now operates 14 trout production farms in the state, has contracts with seven additional farms and can produce up to 35 million pounds of trout before processing in one year, officials said.

As a result, Riverence is now the largest land-based producer of both steelhead and rainbow trout, company officials said, contributing to the majority of the state's production.

The details of the purchase are not being publicized, company officials said.

Riverence intends to maintain both brands and the 450 workers employed by the companies, officials said.