I was looking at seafood at the local Costco and a friend told me a
couple of things- they sell farm raised Salmon, that the reason Annatto*
is added is because the wild salmon has a chance to eat foods that give
the flesh it's color (like flamingos?) and that besides the fact that
farm raised fish not only don't get pink, they swim in putrid waters
compared to the Ocean going kind and as such they have more toxins built
up in them.

Now, I hadn't considered the fish they sell there as available for
sashimi/nigiri, but rather in the cookable category.


What say ye, eaters of things that swim?

TBerk
*<http://www.colormaker.com/CM/AboutNC/annatto.asp>

T wrote:
> I was looking at seafood at the local Costco and a friend told
> me a
> couple of things- they sell farm raised Salmon, that the
> reason
> Annatto* is added is because the wild salmon has a chance to
> eat
> foods that give the flesh it's color (like flamingos?) and
> that
> besides the fact that farm raised fish not only don't get
> pink, they
> swim in putrid waters compared to the Ocean going kind and as
> such
> they have more toxins built up in them.
>
> Now, I hadn't considered the fish they sell there as available
> for
> sashimi/nigiri, but rather in the cookable category.
>
>
> What say ye, eaters of things that swim?
>

It appears that New York stores have lots of "wild caught"
salmon in stock even while not much is being caught on the West
Coast. The "explanations" by suppliers are so unbelievable that
it's enough to
give up eating the stuff!

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/dining/10salmon.html


--
James V. Silverton
Potomac, Maryland, USA

"T" > wrote in message
. ..
>
>
> I was looking at seafood at the local Costco and a friend told me a couple
> of things- they sell farm raised Salmon, that the reason Annatto* is added
> is because the wild salmon has a chance to eat foods that give the flesh
> it's color (like flamingos?) and that besides the fact that farm raised
> fish not only don't get pink, they swim in putrid waters compared to the
> Ocean going kind and as such they have more toxins built up in them.
>
> Now, I hadn't considered the fish they sell there as available for
> sashimi/nigiri, but rather in the cookable category.
>
>
> What say ye, eaters of things that swim?
>
> TBerk
> *<http://www.colormaker.com/CM/AboutNC/annatto.asp>

I just don't get why people will pay for farmed salmon. Wild salmon is
literally available all year long in it's various species.

Getting a good deal on farmed fish is like getting a good deal on a toilet
that is full of waste. It may be cheap, but you don't want it in your
house.

Ken
Juneau, Alaska

JuneauBug wrote:
> "T" > wrote in message
> . ..
>
>>
>>I was looking at seafood at the local Costco and a friend told me a couple
>>of things- they sell farm raised Salmon, that the reason Annatto* is added
>>is because the wild salmon has a chance to eat foods that give the flesh
>>it's color (like flamingos?) and that besides the fact that farm raised
>>fish not only don't get pink, they swim in putrid waters compared to the
>>Ocean going kind and as such they have more toxins built up in them.
>>
>>Now, I hadn't considered the fish they sell there as available for
>>sashimi/nigiri, but rather in the cookable category.
>>
>>
>>What say ye, eaters of things that swim?
>>
>>TBerk
>>*<http://www.colormaker.com/CM/AboutNC/annatto.asp>
>
>
> I just don't get why people will pay for farmed salmon. Wild salmon is
> literally available all year long in it's various species.
>
> Getting a good deal on farmed fish is like getting a good deal on a toilet
> that is full of waste. It may be cheap, but you don't want it in your
> house.

Ya know, you say that cuz you're tied to the industry.. all the while we
just don't get wild salmon here in Boston. If your company would start
shipping to markets here, maybe we'd have a choice.. oh and keep the
costs low, cuz that can make the difference too.

--
Dan

My local Whole Foods market has "farmed salmon" but apparently they are
raised on farms that deal directly with the chain. Not sure how much
better (or worse) this is than getting farmed salmon from somewhere
else.

Even the wild salmon at Whole Food (as with most fish) was shipped
while frozen and not sure for how long. It still doesn't taste as good
as when I drive all the way to the coast and buy the fish from the
fisherman off the docks.

"Dan Logcher" > wrote in message
...
> JuneauBug wrote:
>> "T" > wrote in message
>> . ..
>>
>>>
>>>I was looking at seafood at the local Costco and a friend told me a
>>>couple of things- they sell farm raised Salmon, that the reason Annatto*
>>>is added is because the wild salmon has a chance to eat foods that give
>>>the flesh it's color (like flamingos?) and that besides the fact that
>>>farm raised fish not only don't get pink, they swim in putrid waters
>>>compared to the Ocean going kind and as such they have more toxins built
>>>up in them.
>>>
>>>Now, I hadn't considered the fish they sell there as available for
>>>sashimi/nigiri, but rather in the cookable category.
>>>
>>>
>>>What say ye, eaters of things that swim?
>>>
>>>TBerk
>>>*<http://www.colormaker.com/CM/AboutNC/annatto.asp>
>>
>>
>> I just don't get why people will pay for farmed salmon. Wild salmon is
>> literally available all year long in it's various species.
>>
>> Getting a good deal on farmed fish is like getting a good deal on a
>> toilet that is full of waste. It may be cheap, but you don't want it in
>> your house.
>
> Ya know, you say that cuz you're tied to the industry.. all the while we
> just don't get wild salmon here in Boston. If your company would start
> shipping to markets here, maybe we'd have a choice.. oh and keep the
> costs low, cuz that can make the difference too.
>
> --
> Dan

You are partly right. I've only been in this line of work for about 2
years, so I don't have a ton of industry knowledge, but the farm issue was
one of the first things I looked into. Like most people, I had know idea
what was in a farmed fish. In fact, i didn't even know there was such a
thing.

I work for a relatively small processor. Most of our whole fish are sold
before we even get them in, and almost all of it is sold to brokers in
Seattle where it is then sold all over the country or overseas. National
distribution is something we are working on for sure, but being a small
company has it's drawbacks when trying to create brand recognition. One
thing we have going for us this year is that there will be a king salmon
opening in our area on May 2nd, making Southeast Alaska the first area to
harvest king salmon this year. This fishery has been open for more than 20
years. Keep an eye on your local markets to see if they have salmon around
the 2nd week in May. Pricing is usually an issue after it leaves our dock.
One thing I learned in my short time is that there is very little margin in
the whole fish market, wish some margins being as low as 10 cents per pound.
With that kind of profit, you have to process a pantload of fish. If you
are familiar with Barbecue's Galore, keep an eye on new store openings, or
remodels. Some of them are bringing in high end meats and seafood. I know
there was one in the northeast that opened just this weekend. They don't
have fish yet, but we are trying.

ken

"Dan Logcher" > wrote in message
...
> JuneauBug wrote:
>> "T" > wrote in message
>> . ..
>>
>>>
>>>I was looking at seafood at the local Costco and a friend told me a
>>>couple of things- they sell farm raised Salmon, that the reason Annatto*
>>>is added is because the wild salmon has a chance to eat foods that give
>>>the flesh it's color (like flamingos?) and that besides the fact that
>>>farm raised fish not only don't get pink, they swim in putrid waters
>>>compared to the Ocean going kind and as such they have more toxins built
>>>up in them.
>>>
>>>Now, I hadn't considered the fish they sell there as available for
>>>sashimi/nigiri, but rather in the cookable category.
>>>
>>>
>>>What say ye, eaters of things that swim?
>>>
>>>TBerk
>>>*<http://www.colormaker.com/CM/AboutNC/annatto.asp>
>>
>>
>> I just don't get why people will pay for farmed salmon. Wild salmon is
>> literally available all year long in it's various species.
>>
>> Getting a good deal on farmed fish is like getting a good deal on a
>> toilet that is full of waste. It may be cheap, but you don't want it in
>> your house.
>
> Ya know, you say that cuz you're tied to the industry.. all the while we
> just don't get wild salmon here in Boston. If your company would start
> shipping to markets here, maybe we'd have a choice.. oh and keep the
> costs low, cuz that can make the difference too.
>
> --
> Dan

You are partly right. I've only been in this line of work for about 2
years, so I don't have a ton of industry knowledge, but the farm issue was
one of the first things I looked into. Like most people, I had know idea
what was in a farmed fish. In fact, i didn't even know there was such a
thing.

I work for a relatively small processor. Most of our whole fish are sold
before we even get them in, and almost all of it is sold to brokers in
Seattle where it is then sold all over the country or overseas. National
distribution is something we are working on for sure, but being a small
company has it's drawbacks when trying to create brand recognition. One
thing we have going for us this year is that there will be a king salmon
opening in our area on May 2nd, making Southeast Alaska the first area to
harvest king salmon this year. This fishery has been open for more than 20
years. Keep an eye on your local markets to see if they have salmon around
the 2nd week in May. Pricing is usually an issue after it leaves our dock.
One thing I learned in my short time is that there is very little margin in
the whole fish market, wish some margins being as low as 10 cents per pound.
With that kind of profit, you have to process a pantload of fish. If you
are familiar with Barbecue's Galore, keep an eye on new store openings, or
remodels. Some of them are bringing in high end meats and seafood. I know
there was one in the northeast that opened just this weekend. They don't
have fish yet, but we are trying.

ken

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> My local Whole Foods market has "farmed salmon" but apparently they are
> raised on farms that deal directly with the chain. Not sure how much
> better (or worse) this is than getting farmed salmon from somewhere
> else.
>
> Even the wild salmon at Whole Food (as with most fish) was shipped
> while frozen and not sure for how long. It still doesn't taste as good
> as when I drive all the way to the coast and buy the fish from the
> fisherman off the docks.
>
> wrote in message
ups.com...
> My local Whole Foods market has "farmed salmon" but apparently they are
> raised on farms that deal directly with the chain. Not sure how much
> better (or worse) this is than getting farmed salmon from somewhere
> else.
>
> Even the wild salmon at Whole Food (as with most fish) was shipped
> while frozen and not sure for how long. It still doesn't taste as good
> as when I drive all the way to the coast and buy the fish from the
> fisherman off the docks.
>

That would be interesting to see if any branded farms would do anything to
produce a cleaner fish, but from what I have learned so far, farmed is
farmed. I haven't seen where anybody has reported a "clean" farmed fish.

You are certainly right to have some concern when dealing with "fresh" fish
in markets. We do a very small amount of fresh caught. It's just too
risky from Alaska. In fact, we lost a huge load of live tanner (snow) crab
a couple months back due to a mechanical problem with the commercial
airliner it was flying on. One a brighter side, new technology in
processing can keep a fish fresh tasting for quite a while. In fact, we
store some of our retail products for up to a year just to see the quality
after long term storage. I've been pretty impressed with the quality of
some of the salmon after these longer freeze times, particularly Coho
(silver). Coho is lower in fat and oil, so it stores a lot longer, but not
as long as halibut.

ken

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> My local Whole Foods market has "farmed salmon" but apparently they are
> raised on farms that deal directly with the chain. Not sure how much
> better (or worse) this is than getting farmed salmon from somewhere
> else.
>
> Even the wild salmon at Whole Food (as with most fish) was shipped
> while frozen and not sure for how long. It still doesn't taste as good
> as when I drive all the way to the coast and buy the fish from the
> fisherman off the docks.
>
> wrote in message
ups.com...
> My local Whole Foods market has "farmed salmon" but apparently they are
> raised on farms that deal directly with the chain. Not sure how much
> better (or worse) this is than getting farmed salmon from somewhere
> else.
>
> Even the wild salmon at Whole Food (as with most fish) was shipped
> while frozen and not sure for how long. It still doesn't taste as good
> as when I drive all the way to the coast and buy the fish from the
> fisherman off the docks.
>

That would be interesting to see if any branded farms would do anything to
produce a cleaner fish, but from what I have learned so far, farmed is
farmed. I haven't seen where anybody has reported a "clean" farmed fish.

You are certainly right to have some concern when dealing with "fresh" fish
in markets. We do a very small amount of fresh caught. It's just too
risky from Alaska. In fact, we lost a huge load of live tanner (snow) crab
a couple months back due to a mechanical problem with the commercial
airliner it was flying on. One a brighter side, new technology in
processing can keep a fish fresh tasting for quite a while. In fact, we
store some of our retail products for up to a year just to see the quality
after long term storage. I've been pretty impressed with the quality of
some of the salmon after these longer freeze times, particularly Coho
(silver). Coho is lower in fat and oil, so it stores a lot longer, but not
as long as halibut.

ken