Canadian salmon organizations and chefs are trying to change the public’s perception of pink salmon as a canned meat to one that can be used fresh. To that end, fishermen, suppliers and processors are working to raise awareness of pink salmon as a sustainable option since it is more plentiful than sockeye and Chinook.
“Pink had long been considered a garbage fish by sports fisherman, and it wasn’t a fishery that was important to the First Nations either. Years ago — if you could get it in the grocery store — it would be packaged in a way that cheapened it, such as in a plastic bag with a twist tie,” Ron Shewchuk, author of Plank Secrets and other cookbooks, told SeafoodSource.
Shewchuk was one of the featured chefs and cooks at the biennial Pink Salmon Festival on 25 August in Vancouver, B.C. Well-known chef and sustainable seafood advocate Robert Clark also cooked fresh Fraser River pink salmon for thousands of salmon lovers.
The event’s organizers, the Pacific Salmon Foundation, believe the Pink Salmon Festival is important this year since there is such a high pink salmon run for the Fraser River (in Vancouver) this season. The Pacific Salmon Foundation projected a run of 8.9 million pinks for the season, while the projected sockeye forecast has been lowered from 4.765 million to 2.63 million.
“Pinks are the smallest and most abundant of Pacific salmon and at record high abundance in the North Pacific. Due to their abundance, fishing for pinks is more sustainable compared to other Pacific salmon species,” said Dr. Brian Riddell, president and CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF).
The PSF, Shewchuk and others are working to boost sales of pink salmon as a fresh fish. “There has been an effort by the salmon industry in Canada to raise awareness of it as a species that you can eat fresh. They are processing and fishing it with more respect for the fish,” Shewchuk said.
As a cook and author, Shewchuk tells consumers about pink salmon’s benefits and the various ways it can be used. “Pink salmon is very delicate and has a lovely fresh flavor. You can smoke it, grill it, plank it, or make a salmon burger out of it. It is very versatile. The skin is very delicate, so you can crisp it up on the grill,” Shewchuk said.
