Alaska Salmon| Resource Management | Salmon Fishing | Processing/Transporting
Nutrition Information | Buying Tips | Salmon Buyer's Technical Kit

Most Alaska salmon are transferred from the fishing vessel to a tender vessel which carries the catches of several harvesters from a remote fishing spot to a processing plant. Tender vessels chill the fish with either ice or refrigerated seawater. The tender system allows fishing vessels to fish while support vessels run back and forth between the plant and the fishing grounds. The system also permits the plant manager to schedule and stagger the fish deliveries so that he can employ his plant personnel effectively and assure a smooth flow of fish throughout the plant, thus optimizing the quality of the product.

One of the challenges inherent in the Alaska salmon industry is the fact that the fish in most river systems return in astounding numbers during a brief period of time. In one recent year, for example, more than 62 million fish went through Bristol Bay in a little more than three weeks’ time. The greater challenge, then, is not so much catching the fish, but timely distribution to appropriate markets and processing facilities.

After salmon are unloaded from the tender, they are immediately iced in large self-draining storage bins called totes. As they are brought on to the processing line, they are sorted by species, then eviscerated and headed if they are to be frozen. Some fish destined for the fresh market may be sold with their heads still on. After being headed and gutted, the fish are graded by size and quality.

Fresh Salmon
Fresh fish can be flown to markets as far away as Europe or Japan. Sometimes from remote areas, single shipments of salmon may be flown by helicopter from a tender on the fishing grounds to a local airport, from the local airport to Anchorage in a prop-jet, and from Anchorage to Chicago, Paris, Dallas, Tokyo or Copenhagen in a jumbo jet. Less than 48 hours after it was pulled from the water, an Alaskan salmon can be the featured item at a restaurant in Paris or Tokyo.

Other fish are frozen on the grounds by floating processors which may move with the fish from one area to another, and by shore-based plants which are usually equipped to both freeze and can product. No matter whether it is caught by a troller, gillnetter, or seiner, a salmon is a valuable product, and processors make every effort to treat it as such.

Frozen Salmon
After grading, the fish are individually quick frozen and glazed. The glazing, a thin coat of fresh water ice achieved by dipping the frozen fish several times in cold water, seals air away from the fish and helps prolong shelf life. Fish may also be vacuum packed before freezing. From the glazing tank, the fish are placed in individual polyethylene bags. Properly glazed, in a polyethylene lined container, and in still-air cold storage at -10° to -20° F, salmon will remain top quality for many months, although most prudent processors will reglaze fish that have been in storage for five or six months. Salmon are graded again when they are taken out of cold storage for sale to a wholesaler or retailer.

Canned Salmon
Salmon canneries once dominated the Alaska seafood industry. A cannery converts an enormous amount of fish into a tasty and wholesome product in a very short period of time; an important consideration in Alaska’s intense fishing season. Although freezing allows the processor a great deal more flexibility in the way he can handle and market his product, freezers cannot handle the volume of product as canneries. Canned salmon is a traditional product that is quite popular in regions of the United States, and in certain countries, such as the United Kingdom.

Salmon Quality
The determination of value of a particular fish, or of a shipment of salmon, is complicated by a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, all of which must be considered and play a part in the determination. Changing one or more factors as its relative importance changes the whole picture. The establishment of a value or level of preference depends on the size, external and internal color characteristics, fat content, degree of maturity, method of capture, freshness and state of preservation/method of preservation. Thus “quality” relates to the characteristics of the fish itself as well as its state of freshness or preservation. Intended use, market conditions and availability also affect value.

Salmon is presented to the consumer in many forms. But no matter which form the customer chooses, the quality of the end-product reflects the quality of the raw material used in its preparation. It is impossible to produce top-quality seafood products using second-rate raw materials. The capture, handling, and storage of the raw material, together with the primary processing operations prior to packaging, are major factors influencing the quality of the final product.

The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute’s (ASMI’s) Seafood Technical Program works to enhance and maintain the quality and safety of all Alaska seafood products. An 18-member Seafood Technical Committee, comprised of corporate quality assurance experts, commercial fishermen and university food technologists, directs the activities of the Seafood Technical Program. This program produces a wide variety of publications and videos, designed to educate and assist every segment of the industry and its customers, from salmon fishermen and seafood processors, to buyers, restaurateurs, distributors, and retailers.

In Alaska, ASMI and the University of Alaska’s Marine Advisory Program (MAP, also known as “Sea Grant”) joined to provide Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) training to the Alaska seafood industry. HACCP is a state-of-the-art food safety system that is preventive, rather than reactive. ASMI and MAP have trained hundreds of Alaska seafood industry personnel.

ASMI’s Seafood Technical Program provides a wide range of services to the Alaska fishing and seafood industry, the Alaska fishery management process, the customers of our constituents, and the consumers of Alaska seafood.