Inside Alaska

Novels of Life, Love & Danger in The Great Land

Salmon

“Wild Caught” Salmon – What Does That Mean?

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The definition of “marketing” is telling telling people what they want to hear, see, and believe. And the word “Wild” is what people look for when seeking sustainable salmon. But “wild caught” only means “not farmed” — well, not completely. Here’s the breakdown for salmon:

Wild – as in no human or hatchery has touched them until they are caught.

Wild Caught – probably hatchery raised, possibly diseased, but not kept in a pen all their lives. They were bred in labs and hatcheries, subject to diseases and manipulation, then released as smolt to compete with and infect truly wild runs. These hatchery salmon are overproduced and because they are, they compete with ALL species–salmon, birds, everything that depends on what salmon eat. Natural wild salmon are returning smaller, with far less fat on them because of the overproduction of hatchery stock. It’s a serious global problem.

Farmed – don’t get me started. Farmed fish is filth. Even cats won’t eat it. Please don’t poison yourself and don’t support this misbegotten industry. #farmedsalmon #wildsalmon #alaskansalmon

Seiner Podcast

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Great images, with some video, and insights into the Thunder Bay Seiner Series:

See Alaskan commercial fishing salmon seiners working, boats, live salmon in the fish hold, an plenty of scenic shots.

Full Hold

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Looking down from the cannery (fish processing plant) dock, onto the deck of a seiner with a full hold of salmon. On the bottom of the image, the round metal with a long handle and orange net is the brailer. The corkpile is on the stern port side, net in the center, leadline on the starboard side. At the top is the skiff. The oval metal on the bow side of the fish hold are hatches to the engine room.

Pumping Pinks

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Delivering to a tender, the fish hold is first flooded with cold salt water, then the fish are pumped aboard the tender. The large grey hose is from the tender’s pump. The photo is taken from the door of the cabin looking at the stern where the net is piled and the skiff floats behind it. The leadline is on the left, web is in the center, and the corkpile is on the right. The catch in the hold is pink salmon (aka humpies). When enough sets are made to fill the fish hold, it has to be pumped out before the boat can continue fishing.

This is a common action throughout the books in the Thunder Bay Seiner Series because it’s a regular part of commercial salmon fishing in southcentral Alaska. #pinksalmon #thunderbayseiners #commercialfishing #alaskansalmon

Processing Salmon

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I smoke the salmon, then peel the skin and stuff the meat into jars for canning under high pressure. The photo above is of smoked fillets. Below are jars being stuffed.