On Sunday, I stopped by my parents home to visit and let the boys swim in their pool. I noticed Mom had the dining table set for 8 on the loggia. I asked what she was planning and she said some friends were coming over to eat salmon. But this wasn't just any salmon, this was the highly acclaimed wild Copper River Salmon, only available in season from mid-May to mid-June. The dinner was tentatively planned based on availability of the fish, which sells out fast when local stores (Costco & Central Market) get in fresh shipments.
Keeping it casual and easy, mom pulled together this flower arrangement by reassembling some of the fresher looking roses from a previous older arrangement. Then she added fresh cut hydrangeas from the yard to complete the look!
The Copper River is a 300-mile-long Alaskan river, which empties into Prince William Sound, and is famous for its summer runs of King, Sockeye and Coho salmon. Because of the length and nature of the run, these fish are high in delicious healthy omega-3 oils. Raw wild-caught Copper River Salmon is almost ruby red in color. One taste of this succulent meat, with its rich and nutty flavor, will help you understand why food lovers relish the limited season of this fish.
Grill master Dr. Jay Fierke cooking the prized 1.5 pound filets, which can run around $15-$20 lb.
A gathering of longtime friends for a Sunday Salmon Super.
Don't feel like cooking your own Copper River Salmon? You‘re in luck! Right now both of Chef Jon Bonnell's restaurants, Bonnell's Fine Texas Cuisine & Waters, are serving this highly sought after fish. Be sure to tell him I sent you his way.
Wild Caught vs Farm Raised Salmon...the truth exposed!
I want to share with you the difference between Farm-Raised vs Wild-Caught Salmon. As a food purest at heart, I have done years of research and reading on our food system, and folks, it's not a pretty world out there...in fact, it's down right disgusting.
"Nearly all (like 95-98%) salmon Americans eat are farm-raised. They're grown in densely packed pens near ocean shores, fed fish meal that can be polluted with toxic PCB chemicals, living in excrement flushed out to sea and infused with antibiotics to combat unsanitary conditions." source CNN Health
These practices not only lead to diseased fish and chemically loaded food, but they cause a chain of events which can lead to poor health and sickness. "Eating more than one meal of farm-raised salmon per month (depending on where it is from) may increase one`s risk of developing cancer in the future due to the increased levels of chemicals and antibiotics." source
"To make matters worse, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to approve the first genetically-engineered (GE) salmon for commercial sale, which recent studies have shown will contaminate native species. So not only will wild salmon have to deal with diseases like infectious salmon anemia virus (ISA) and salmon alphaviruses from farmed fish, but they will also face genetic contamination from GE "Frankensalmon." source
"The World Health Organization raised food safety concerns over fish farming, including salmon, warning that this growing practice posed risks to public health. Artificial coloring, toxic by-products, and cancer causing contaminants have all been found in factory farmed salmon. The United States currently imports approximately 200,000 tons of farmed salmon annually but very little of it is ever tested for diseases or chemical contaminants." source
"Farmed salmon present a serious threat to the survival of wild salmon stocks in the form of tiny sea lice. A fully grown salmon can survive a sea louse infection with relatively superficial injuries to gills, fins and skin. But just two or three of the critters can cause enough damage to kill a juvenile salmon. Infestations have been known to result in 80% mortality in stocks of salmon." source
There is a drug, Slice, that is an effective antidote to sea lice, but some believe it could be environmentally deleterious and encourage drug resistance among sea lice." And who really wants drugs in the food they consume?
I am sorry to post the graphic image below, but this clearly will help you see the difference between a farm-raised salmons diet and the diet of a wild salmon. Salmon are carnivorous species and thrive off sea life, not color dyed fish food pellets. This again sets the stage for an unhealthy fish, which intern means you are consuming unhealthy protein.
After spending a little time on the phone with celebrity Chef Bonnell this morning, he did inform me that there are a few, very few good quality salmon farms. Of all the articles I have read, this is probably around 5% of salmon farms, and sadly you visually CANNOT tell the difference from the masses. He also mentioned there are few Texas fish farms that produce wonderful high quality fish...Redfish from Copper Shoals and wild hybrid striped bass. So here is the trick when ordering Salmon the next time you are at the grocery store or in a restaurant. IF IT DOESN'T SAY WILD, THEN IT PROBABLY ISN'T. And I seriously doubt you will find wild-caught in chain restaurants. Don't be fooled with fancy names on the menu like Atlantic Salmon, Pacific Salmon, or even a Salmon that has a name attached to it. If you don't know, ask your waiter and he might not even know, so better yet, ask the chef or the manager.
Other articles and movies of interest:
Fish farming killing off native species; boycott farmed salmon before it's too late
Salmon Confidential...a film on the government cover up of what is killing BC’s wild salmon. 1:09:15
Unraveling food industry lies - Your salmon and meat are artificially dyed to look more appealing
Pure Salmon Campaign - raising the standards for farm-raised fish
Copper River Salmon - What's the Big Deal?
The Wild Salmon Co. - Dangers of Farmed Salmon
What are your thoughts on this article? Leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you!
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