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Salmon as a Resource
Price
competition has driven the market to focus on quantity rather than
quality. Family Pride has responded by revolutionizing the Alaska
salmon business with an innovative freezing system that preserves the
quality of wild Alaska salmon from the moment of harvest. Respecting
the resource while demanding quality in a competitive market led to the
Family Pride process.
By
combining live capture, live bleeding and freezing of whole fish on
board, Family Pride provides a high-quality wild Alaska salmon product
with excellent shelf life.
Select the links below to see how the Family Pride process delivers the
highest quality salmon that can't be matched by farmed salmon or
traditional processing.
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| The Process |
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Careful Handling
Keeping
the fish in the best shape begins when the fish are landed. Family
Pride uses a brailer to bring the fish in. This ensures that they are
not bruised, damaged or killed in the process.
The Fish are brought alongside the boat, then brailed live on board.
The Family Pride process is executed in small batches to ensure careful
handling.
Fish are only brought aboard as they can be processed. For example, if
a 10,000 lb. set is caught and the boat can only process 3,000 lbs.,
Family Pride floats on the set until all of the fish can be processed.
The process is contrary to the notion that quantity is the most
important aspect of bringing in salmon. Producing a quality fish that
is "better than fresh" is the goal of the Family Pride process. |
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Proper Bleeding
The fish are bled in live tanks. The bleeding tanks are constantly
replenished with fresh seawater by two pumps on deck. The fish must be
bled in oxygenated water to ensure the best results.
Bleeding is not rushed, it takes 20 - 30 minutes to properly bleed a
salmon. The fish are still swimming during the bleeding. This ensures
that as much blood as possible is removed. The fish are bled until the
water runs clear.
Blood is the source of the "fishy"smell of some salmon. To ensure the
best quality, the fish must be bled properly. |
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Unique Freezing Process
Once the salmon are bled, they are placed into a brine tank. The fish
sit in a basket in the saltwater tank. The brine is refrigerated to 0
degrees or less. The timing is crucial, as the fish must be frozen
before rigor sets in.
Gentle handling keeps the fish straight to avoid damage and bruising.
The brine temperature is closely monitored. When the fish are first
added, the temperature rises significantly. When the brine temperature
returns to zero, the fish are ready to be pulled out.
In about an hour, the fish are frozen as solid as a rock, with a core temperature of 15 - 18 degrees. |
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Locked-in Quality
After the fish are frozen, the quality is preserved and the fish is well-protected against dehydration and oxidization.
The next step is glazing. Glazing seals the fish from outside air. The
fish is solidly frozen, and the quality is locked-in.
The fish are then placed in cold-storage at -30 degrees.
The whole fish is left intact. Brine-freezing in the round (before the
fish is headed or gutted) helps preserve the quality. Nature's seal is
left intact to keep out bacteria or other contaminants.
Additionally, leaving the fish intact eliminates freezer burn to exposed flesh. |
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Better than Fresh
Finally, the frozen, protected fish is delivered to a processer in town where they are glazed again.
A small amount of the catch is sold locally, but the majority is sent
to Seattle where it is further processed to customer specifications.
The Family Pride process reflects Captain D.J. Vinberg's committment to
provide high-quality seafood that reflects a respect for the resource.
Read more about Salmon |
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Copyright 2006, Family Pride Fisheries, familypridefish.com | contact | links |
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