I Tracked a Wild Salmon From Sea to Plate — What I Learned Surprised Me
August 08, 2025 at 12:49AMWhere, really, does your seafood come from? When the label on the piece of fish you just bought reads responsibly caught, can we trust it? In this informative and enjoyable Food & Wine story, Kim Cross asks: “If I couldn’t trace my fish back to the source, what could I learn if I switched directions? Could I follow a salmon from net to plate?” Cross starts her journey in Alaska and boards a commercial fishing boat in Bristol Bay, “the mother lode of wild Alaskan salmon.” As she follows the fish off the boat to become fillets, she takes us on an adventure through the wild salmon supply chain and discovers what it actually looks like to buy and eat sustainable salmon in the US.
Reid’s fish are frozen within 12 to 36 hours of being caught. They’re loaded onto barges for a 16-day trip to Seattle; trucked to Bellingham, Washington; inspected; transported to Portland, Oregon, where they’re inspected again, boxed, and distributed.
My fillets will get an economy-class upgrade, packed in Reid’s carry-on luggage when he flies back home to Portland. In September, 71 days from now, he’ll hand them to a customer who has agreed to meet me and share the culinary fate of my sockeye.
Before I leave Leader Creek, a familiar logo catches my eye. Open Nature — a brand sold in my local Albertsons. And there’s that blue label: “Responsible Choice.” Those fishmongers back home must not know: This label does mean something.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/08/07/wild-alaskan-salmon-sea-to-plate/
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