Wild Salmon

Be aware that not all wild salmon is wild salmon! Consumer Reports magazine investigated and found rampant cases of salmon misrepresentation. This typically involves farm raised salmon being sold as wild caught fish. The problem is worldwide. For instance, wild salmon sold in the UK have proven to be farmed. In one case tests showed that about 10% of the wild salmon samples were actually farmed fish.

Buying from a reputable source is one way to obtain high quality. Educating yourself on identifying seafood is another asset you can use when enjoying seafood.
Fresh Seafood has more information on buying and enjoying top quality seafood.

Smoked wild salmon is a delicious seafood item. The delicacy is simple to prepare and lends itself to a wide variety of dishes.

There are six species of Pacific salmon - chum, coho, king (chinook), pink, sockeye and steelhead - and all are wild.

Salmon is high in Omega-3 fatty acids which is well known as having health benefits. Studies have shown that smoked salmon has a very low level of mercury, unlike some other seafood.

The Journal of American Medicine Association recently published a report stating adding Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon at least once a week to your diet will cut the risk of sudden cardiac death in half.

Wild West coast salmon are harvested commercially in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and much of Canada

Alaska is known for it's salmon. The flavor of Alaska Salmon depends upon fat content and the environment in which it matured. Alaska's water quality and the abundance of food sources give the area's salmon it's excellent flavor.

There are five species of wild Alaska salmon -
Sockeye or Red(Oncorhynchus nerka), Chinook or King(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), Coho or Silver(Oncorhynchus kisutch), Keta or Chum (Oncorhynchus keta), and Pink or Humpy (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha).

Wild Alaska Salmon grow in the ocean, and spawn in the rivers. Salmon spawn once and die afterward. Wild Salmon eventually migrate to sea, then return to their stream of birth to spawn.

Alaska's statewide salmon harvest in 2008 was 146 million fish. The catch was a decrease of 31.4% from 2007 - still, it was the 16th largest catch since statehood in 1959. The value of the 2008 catch topped $400 million at the docks. Alaska's salmon catch was 212.6 million fish in 2007.

British Columbia is an important supplier of wild salmon. In 2007, the B.C. commercial seine, troll and gillnet fisheries in British Columbia harvested a total of around 11,000 tons of pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and 4,100 tons of chum (Oncorhynchus keta) salmon.

Together, these two fisheries account for about 80 percent of the wild caught salmon from British Columbia.

The pink and chum salmon fisheries of British Columbia have applied for assessment to the The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) environmental standard for well managed and sustainable fisheries.

The MSC runs the only widely recognised environmental certification program for wild capture fisheries and plays an important role in creating a sustainable fishing industry worldwide.

Wild populations of King (chinook) salmon now exist in Chile and Argentina. Apparently escaped fish from hatchery and aquaculture operations have established themselves and may even support a wild salmon fishery there.

California is home to over 32 varieties of salmon and trout, with 29 fish protected under endangered species law or designated for special protection.

One of the traditionally strong species is the Central Valley's fall run chinook, which was considered a healthy population until so few returned to spawn in 2007 that the commercial fishery had to be entirely shut down.

Wild California salmon face a variety of obstacles in their anadromous life cycle, including dams blocking spawning habitat, timber harvest, water diversions, poor water quality and siltation.

Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez has declared a commercial fishery failure for the West Coast salmon fishery due to historically low salmon returns. At the same time, NOAA's Fisheries Service issued regulations to close or severely limit recreational and commercial salmon fishing in the area.

"The unprecedented collapse of the salmon population will hit fishermen, their families, and fishing communities hard, and that is why we have moved quickly to declare a fishery disaster," Gutierrez said. "Our scientists are working to better understand the effects that ocean changes have on salmon populations. We are also working closely with fishing communities to improve salmon habitat in river systems to support sustainable fishing."

Hundreds of thousands of fall Chinook salmon typically return to the Sacramento River every year to spawn. This year, scientists estimate that fewer than 60,000 adult Chinook will make it back to the Sacramento River.

"This is far below what is needed to sustain the population and we have decided to shut down the commercial ocean salmon fishery for all of California and most of Oregon to aid their recovery," said Jim Balsiger, NOAA's Fisheries Service acting assistant administrator. "It's a tough decision, but the condition of the salmon fishery forces us to close most of it to ensure healthy runs of this valuable fish in the future."

Although the reasons for the sudden decline of the fishery are not completely understood, NOAA scientists suggest that changes in ocean conditions, including unfavorable shifts in ocean temperature and food sources for juvenile salmon, likely caused poor survival of salmon that would have comprised this year's fishery. Loss of freshwater habitat for salmon spawning, rearing, and migration to the ocean is a chronic problem that has made salmon populations more susceptible to the occasional poor ocean conditions. NOAA will undertake a thorough examination of the causes.

Coho salmon stocks off Washington and northern Oregon, while in slightly better shape, are still far below normal, and there will be substantially curtailed commercial fishing off those areas as well. A small recreational fishery off Oregon's northern coast and targeted on hatchery produced coho salmon will be allowed.

The disaster declaration opens the door for Congress to appropriate money towards alleviating the financial hardship caused by the fishery disaster. Under Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Commerce Secretary can declare a commercial fishery failure if requested to do so by a governor, or at the Secretary's discretion. The Secretary must determine that the commercial fishery failure resulted from a fishery resource disaster due to natural causes, man-made causes beyond the control of fishery managers, or undetermined causes.

source: PSMFC press release

In a November 14th, 2008 press release, the U.S. Commerce Department announced that Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez has determined that there has been a commercial fishery failure due to a continued fisheries resource disaster in the sockeye salmon fisheries in Puget Sound and the northern Pacific coast of Washington.

"Several Northwest Indian tribes and non-tribal fishermen in the state of Washington have been hurt by drastic declines in sockeye salmon runs and harvests that are so important to these communities," said Secretary Gutierrez. "Our fisheries scientists continue to study the possible causes of this decline in an effort to find solutions."

This is the second time that the Department of Commerce has found a fishery resource disaster in the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery. A similar determination was made in 2002. This commercial fishery failure is separate from the Klamath and West Coast salmon disaster determinations made in 2006 and 2008 for ocean salmon fisheries.

"NOAA's Fisheries Service will continue to work with the tribes and the state of Washington to assess economic damage to the fishing communities and look for long-term solutions," said Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA's Fisheries Service.

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Sockeye Salmon

Sockeye Salmon are considered to be the most valuable salmon species in the United States. They are prized for their deep red flesh of excellent flavor. The name sockeye originates from the Indian name sukkai.Sockeye salmon can be found from California's Sacramento river system, north to the Bering Sea and then south to northern Hokkaido.

Sockeye salmon are available fresh, frozen, whole, dressed and as steaks or fillets with the skin-on or skinless. Size is generally 4 to 10 pounds. They spend 1-4 years in the ocean before returning to fresh water to spawn in late summer and autumn. Almost 100% of the sockeye salmon bought in the U.S. is from healthy stocks harvested by U.S. fisheries, primarily in Alaska.

Chinook Salmon

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are also called king, spring, or tyee salmon, and are the largest of the Pacific salmon. Like all Pacific salmon, chinook are anadromous, which means they hatch in freshwater streams and rivers, migrate to the ocean for feeding and growth, and return to their natal waters to spawn. The natural range of chinook in North America ranges from the Ventura River in California to Kotzebue Sound in Alaska.

Coho or Silver Salmon

Coho or "silver" salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are found in streams and rivers throughout much of the Pacific Rim, including the coasts of North America and Asia. In North America, coho salmon are most abundant in coastal areas from central Oregon to southeast Alaska.

Coho are also anadromous and have a life history similar to chinook. The time they spend in fresh and salt water is relatively fixed, compared to the more variable life history of chinook. North of central British Columbia, coho tend to spend two years in the ocean, while south of this point they spend only one year in the ocean.

Pink Salmon

Pink salmon can be distinguished from other Pacific salmon by the presence of large dark oval spots on the back and the entire caudal fin and their general coloration and form. In the sea, pink salmon are steel blue to blue-green on the back, silver on the sides, and white on the belly.

During the breeding phase males become dark on the back and red with brownish green blotches on the sides. Breeding females are similar but less distinctly colored. Maturing males also develop a hump on their back.

2 lbs. salmon
2 potatoes peeled cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 small onion, sliced
6 strips bacon or salt pork
3 Tbsp. butter
2 cups scalded milk
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Remove skin and fillets and cut off head and tail. Cut fish into 2 inch pieces and set aside.

Put head, tail, and backbone pieces into a stew pan, add 2 cups of cold water and bring slowly to boiling point; cook 5 minutes.

Cut bacon or salt pork into small pieces and fry out, add onion and fry 5 minutes. Strain fat into a large pan, add potatoes to fat, then add 2 cups boiling water and cook 5 minutes.

Add liquor drained from the bones, add fish, cover and simmer 5 minutes.

Add milk, salt, pepper, and butter.

To thicken, melt 1 tablespoon butter and add 2 tablespoons flour, blending well. Gradually add 2 cups scalded milk.

Serve steaming hot with crackers.