Launch the New Year with Bristol Bay sockeye. Naturally rich in protein, Vitamin D, and Omega 3 fatty acids, our wild sockeye fits the bill when it comes to nutritious meals for the whole family. Whether it has been flash frozen, canned or smoked, Bristol Bay sockeye lends itself to quick and healthy preparation that will fuel the body for the year ahead.

Sockeye In The Stores and On the Shelf

Thanks to recent improvements in handling, processing, and transportation, sockeye can easily be found worldwide in a variety of convenient forms—canned, fresh, flash-frozen, individually packaged, smoked, and pouched.   Because Bristol Bay is the largest wild sockeye run in the world, the odds are good that if you are eating sockeye in the U.S., it’s from Bristol Bay. Curious where your salmon comes from? Just ask! And remember, all salmon labeled Atlantic, Norway, Chile or even Organic is farmed, not wild.

Frozen Fillets—Individually flash frozen sockeye fillets bring tremendous value to the dinner table.  The vacuum packed product is a freezer staple, defrosts quickly, and cooks in a flash. The individual serving size packages are great for small households and busy families.

Canned—Canned sockeye has been the backbone of the Bristol Bay salmon industry for well over 100 years.  Canned salmon is shelf stable and lends itself to casseroles, chowders, salads, and sandwiches. Canned sockeye is often called “red salmon” and is available with the skin and bones intact. Because the skin and bones are cooked during processing, they are very soft and can easily be stirred and incorporated into a dish. The bones add calcium and do not need to be picked out.

Smoked—Bristol Bay sockeye is available in cold and hot smoked packages. Cold smoked is often sold sliced and ready to serve. Hot smoked sockeye can be found in similar sized packages and it usually has the skin intact. Both products lend themselves to an infinite variety of preparations suitable for the holidays. Small amounts of both these products work well added to eggs, pastas, salads, and sandwiches.

Sockeye Caviar or Ikura—Ultra rich in Omega 3s and coveted by the Japanese and Europeans, salmon caviar is also called Ikura.  Many salmon processing facilities throughout Bristol Bay region have their own caviar facilities and as a result the small sockeye eggs are often cured within hours of being harvested from the water.

To learn more about wild Alaska salmon or to search and share additional recipes, visit www.WildAlaskaFlavor.com.

Sincerely,

Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BB-RSDA)
1120 Huffman Rd, Box 208
Anchorage AK 99515
USA

Heart Healthy—The American Heart Association urges consumption of at least two portions of fish each week. The high levels of Omega-3s found in sockeye, make it an excellent choice.

Brain Power—DHA, one of the long chain Omega-3s found in sockeye salmon, plays a key role in brain function. Recent studies also indicate that Omega-3s may play an important role in mental health and prevention of depression. The brain boosting powers of sockeye make it a superior choice for stressed students, new moms, and older adults!

Healthy Bones—Vitamin D is critically important to bone health, because the body can’t absorb calcium without it. Sockeye is inherently rich in this vitamin and has about 930 IU units per 3.5 ounce serving. An 8-ounce glass of vitamin D fortified milk, on the other hand, only contains about 100 IU units.

Located in southwest Alaska, about two hundred air miles from Anchorage, Bristol Bay is home to the largest commercial sockeye salmon fishery in the world. Boasting five major river systems, deep lakes, and an environment remote from commercial and industrial development, the region is a critical life source in more ways than one.

For hundreds of generations, Bristol Bay has supported Native Alaskan families living a traditional subsistence lifestyle, and for 130 years it has supported a thriving commercial fishery that supplies the world.

During much of the year, the region is gripped in ice and snow, but during June and July, Bristol Bay springs to life, with the return of millions of sockeye salmon and thousands of commercial fishermen. As massive schools of salmon “pulse” into the bay, Alaska state biologists work with fishermen to allow optimal catch levels while preserving the species for future generations and protecting the environment from imbalances.

Historically, the commercial fishing industry in Bristol Bay dates back to the late 1800s when canneries were established and all of the sockeye was packed into cans and shipped elsewhere. Today, thanks to the fleet’s ongoing commitment to quality and to improvements in transportation and processing, a large portion of Bristol Bay sockeye is available in a variety of forms that are convenient for today’s busy, health conscious cooks.

When Alaska joined the Union in 1959, the state’s founding fathers were steadfastly committed to protecting and preserving one of the region’s most precious resources. In fact, the state constitution states that “fish…be utilized, developed and maintained on the sustained yield principle.” Translation: Alaska’s salmon fisheries are sustainable – it’s the law.

A true commitment to preservation and protection requires more than buzzwords, however. It requires a continuous commitment of time, resources, science-based research, and close enforcement of rules. Indeed, all of those things are practiced and demonstrated during the frenetic weeks of the Bristol Bay sockeye run. In Bristol Bay, where hundreds of generations have relied on salmon, the commercial fishery is still managed for future generations.

Working on small boats (only 32 feet in length), with just 3-4 crew members, Bristol Bay fishermen navigate the choppy waters and set their salmon nets. Fishing is only allowed during certain brief windows of time, as specified by state biologists, who monitor the fleet’s catch and count fish as they move into protected spawning areas. It is this balance of catch with “escapement,” – the salmon that are allowed to move unimpeded through the fishing areas and upstream to the spawning beds – that biologists strive for.

The size of Bristol Bay’s salmon runs prove the success of this escapement-based management approach. Over the last twenty years, an average of 38 million sockeye have returned to Bristol Bay each year. How many salmon is that? Well, if 38 million sockeye were arranged nose-to-tail, they would stretch from Bristol Bay to Australia and back.

Canned—Canned sockeye has been the backbone of the Bristol Bay salmon industry for well over 100 years.  Canned salmon is shelf stable and lends itself to casseroles, chowders, salads, and sandwiches. Canned sockeye is often called “red salmon” and is available with the skin and bones intact. Because the skin and bones are cooked during processing, they are very soft and can easily be stirred and incorporated into a dish. The bones add calcium and do not need to be picked out.

Smoked—Bristol Bay sockeye is available in cold and hot smoked packages. Cold smoked is often sold sliced and ready to serve. Hot smoked sockeye can be found in similar sized packages and it usually has the skin intact. Both products lend themselves to an infinite variety of preparations suitable for the holidays. Small amounts of both these products work well added to eggs, pastas, salads, and sandwiches.

Sockeye Caviar or Ikura—Ultra rich in Omega 3s and coveted by the Japanese and Europeans, salmon caviar is also called Ikura.  Many salmon processing facilities throughout Bristol Bay region have their own caviar facilities and as a result the small sockeye eggs are often cured within hours of being harvested from the water.

This diversity helps to ensure a remarkably stable overall balance in the region’s sockeye populations. Referred to by scientists as the “portfolio effect,” this genetic diversity reflects the diversity of the ecosystem itself, and helps prevent the wild swings and precipitous declines in salmon populations that have often occurred outside of Alaska.

Put another way, the portfolio effect acts as a balancing and stabilizing mechanism for salmon populations in the same way that a well-diversified financial portfolio does for investments. Bristol Bay’s salmon  industry pre-dates Alaska’s first Gold Rush, and after 130 years of steady fishing in Bristol Bay, our investments in sustainability are paying off better than ever!