The post-harvest chilling of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon together with a successful ad campaign from the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association have resulted in a dramatic increase for Bristol Bay sockeye sales in stores across the country.
As recently as 2008, only 16 percent of the Bristol Bay drift fleet chilled its catch, whereas 86 percent or the fleet did so last year, which results in a higher quality product. Roughly 151.6 million pounds of sockeye salmon were chilled post-harvest last year.
“The Bristol Bay fleet’s continued effort to educate and incentivize best-practices in post-harvest handling has seen a significant increase in overall quality in recent years,” BBRSDA President Andy Wink said. “Properly-chilled fish bring a higher price to the fishermen and at the seafood counter, and processors have established an expectation of quality and a reputation for delivering premium salmon to their retail partners nationwide.”
The higher quality sockeye has translated into better sales in the retail arena. Rouses, a grocery store with 62 locations in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, reported a 340 percent increase in year-over-year sales of sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay last year, partially due to a seasonal promotion last summer.
“We’re making it easier and more affordable for customers to choose wild and sustainable seafood, like Bristol Bay sockeye salmon, which in my experience, is one of the best fisheries out there,” Rouses Seafood Director Denise Englade said. “This promotion was a huge success at our seafood counters. Our stores saw a 240 percent increase in sales volume, and a 340 percent revenue increase over the previous season’s sales. We look forward to doing another Bristol Bay Sockeye promotion in the future.”
