A case for the commercial harvest of wild edible fungi in Northwestern Ontario

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis explores the feasibility of a commercial wild edible mushroom industry in Northwestern Ontario. Commercially relevant fungi reviewed in this thesis include chanterelles, matsutake, boletes, lobster mushrooms and morels. The commercial harvest of wild edible fungi has occurred in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and British Columbia since the early 1990’s. The productivities (kg/ha) of wild edible fungi in Northwestern Ontario are comparable to those in Northwest Territories, Yukon and British Columbia. A number of factors that might hinder a commercial harvest of wild edible fungi in Northwestern Ontario include limited accessibility to harvest sites, perishability of fruiting bodies, lack of local markets, lack of local harvesting traditions, and a lack of entrepreneurship in this endeavour.