Alaska Salmon: it's Better up Here

Congratulations! You've made a conscious choice to look at salmon as a way to improve your health and well being. Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, essential nutrients important to fetal brain development and linked to reductions in the occurrence or symptoms of autoimmune disease, headaches, cramps, arthritis, other inflammatory diseases, hardening of the arteries, Alzheimer's disease, and heart attacks. Not to mention, salmon tastes great.

The decision to make your diet healthier by eating salmon isn't as simple as it seems. Not all salmon are created equal.

Fresh salmon, frozen salmon, farmed salmon, Alaska salmon, wild salmon - with all the terminology to classify fish, it might seem as though choosing the right salmon is unduly complicated and not worth the effort to ensure you are getting the best for you and your family.

The truth is, there is a significant difference in the type of salmon you choose. Some of these differences can have long-lasting effects on you, the environment and future generations of salmon.

What's Wrong with Farmed Salmon?

In 1990, the Alaska Legislature passed a law banning fish farming in the State of Alaska, citing the risks to wild salmon involved with the industry. These risks include disease, pollution and genetic impacts and competition from escaped fish.

Health Issues
Salmon farmers regularly use pesticides and antibiotics to control disease among the fish. Salmon raised on farms may actually pose a risk because of the toxins they contain.

Environmental Concerns
Farmed salmon are raised in open cages in the thousands. The fish pass their feces into the surrounding waters contaminating the area as much as a small city dumping raw sewage into the water.

Risks to Wild Salmon Stock
Salmon raised in pens can spread rapidly. Frequently, the captive salmon escape and intermingle with wild salmon, contaminating the healthy fish.

Farmed salmon actually represent a net loss of protein in the ocean's food supply. It takes about three pounds of wild fish like mackerel, sardines and anchovy to grow one pound of salmon.

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Looking for Value?
The Good News is that Wild Salmon stocks in Alaska are healthier than ever, and the fisheries produce abundant catches that allow wild Alaskan salmon to compete favorably with farmed fish on the market.

In fact, wild salmon and farmed salmon prices are closely linked. A declining price in farmed salmon puts downward pressure on wild salmon.

The consumer wins, because the laws of supply and demand function effectively in the worldwide salmon market.

What's the Alternative?

Wild Alaska salmon is the ultimate choice for quality, health and minimal environmental impact.

Family Pride Fisheries has revolutionized the Alaska salmon business with an innovative freezing system that preserves the quality of wild Alaska salmon from the moment of harvest.

Think about the Facts:
The quality of salmon cannot be improved once the fish leaves the water. At best, the quality can be maintained, at worst the quality can decline. Freezing the fish before rigor sets in means that the freshly-caught salmon is not susceptable to bruising, bacteria or damage from handling and transport.

Family Pride's unique process allows you to enjoy the highest-quality fish throughout the entire year.

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Dr. Jerry Babbit of the National Marine Fisheries Service Utilization Research Laboratory says:
"In my evaluation, I found Family Pride's frozen salmon to be of premium quality. The frozen and thawed appearance, as well as the cooked attributes were very good. I believe that salmon handled and processed using this novel freezing system has sensory and quality attributes comparable to well-handled fresh salmon."

If you are looking for consistent taste, quality and the assurance that the fish your family is eating is good for you and good for the environment, choose Family Pride fish year-round.

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What is Wild Salmon?

Did you know that if you purchase "fresh" salmon outside of the Summer months you are eating farmed salmon?

Wild salmon runs last approximately from mid-May to mid-September. Fresh salmon at any other time of the year is not wild salmon, it is farmed salmon.

Wild salmon by definition is fish that is not raised artificially in a man-made environment.

Wild salmon live in their natural habitat, where they grow to adulthood at their natural pace, eating natural foods.

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A small percentage of wild salmon comes from Washington, Oregon and California, but wild salmon is primarily Alaska salmon. (All Atlantic salmon is farmed salmon).

Alaska salmon swim in the clear icy waters of the North Pacific, away from man-made contaminants and toxins. The stock thrives as nature intended, with the healthiest fish reproducing.

Wild Alaska salmon is one of the last abundant, pure and wild foods available on earth.

What the Seafood Experts say about Salmon
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch lists wild-caught Alaska salmon as the best choice, while farmed salmon is on the avoid list.

Wild Alaska salmon is low in saturated fat and provides high-quality protein as well as many other important nutrients.