Jon Rowley, the man behind the Copper River salmon craze (here's a Gourmet Magazine interview with Jon about salmon), just sent me mail saying to watch for Yukon River king salmon from Kwikpak Fisheries; Kwikpak is a community-owned Fair Trade company. This alone makes me want to buy from them, but the salmon sound fantastic. Jon says in his mail:
The Yukon king has between 24 and 30% oil which translates into unsurpassed flavor and mouthfeel and Omega 3s into tomorrow (we will test for these this season. they are probably higher in this fish than in any other). By comparison, the Copper River kings, which have more oil than most kings, have 16-17%.
He also included a little about Kwikpak:
Kwikpak Fisheries is the only seafood company in the world to be certified by the the Fair Trade Federation. A purchase of Kwikpak Yukon king salmon contributes directly to improving living and working condtions for the Yupik producers. The fishermen are paid a high price $4.30 /lb for whole fish off the boat. Without this price they can't get ahead with the cost of living in this very remote area. The average per capita income is $9000, $7000 of which is derived from the upcoming fishery. This is still primarily a subsitance [sic]culture. The community depends on hunting and fishing for much of their food needs.
In the Seattle area, Metropolitan Markets will carry the fish. Elliott's Oyster House, Waterfront, and Canlis will also have it. I'll have to go find some soon. If you like salmon, you should too. Jon is always right about these things.
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