Wild Alaskan Sockeye

 

One of the last sources of truly wild and uncontaminated protein on our planet is Alaskan wild salmon. After an extensive search (we are really quite picky), we are proud to announce our partnership with fisherman Traveler Terpening. After selling direct to customers for several years, he branded his program, calling it Salmon and Sable ("Sable" refers to Sablefish, another wild fish he catches).

 

Traveler and his small crew fish for wild sockeye near the mouth of the Ugashik River on the Bristol Bay side of the Alaskan Peninsula. Traveler's approach to catching fish is the closest thing to an artisanal producer of wild protein that we could find. He catches and handles his fish by hand, and his handcrafted care shows up in the exceptional quality of his salmon. Let me say this in a different way: we know of no other salmon fisherman that handles his catch in this manner. Not only does he land and curate his fish, he also carries it across the beach into his small packing house, where he fillets, vac packs and blast freezes every fish by hand. He even purchased a commercial pin bone picker for $10K, but found to his dismay that he did a much better job...by hand (Anyone need a bone picker machine?).

 

Needless to say, he hand picks them, and hand packs every single fish. Everyone else we know of hires an assembly line commercial cannery/packing facility to process their catch, co-mingling it with all the other fish, usually transforming to something less than it was. Integrity is often lost, even though their label says "fisherman direct."

 

Traveler's fish are different. They are truly his, and the pride he has in every fillet is evident.

 

Bristol Bay is home to the largest Sockeye salmon run in the world. It is a truly wild fishery, with a complete absence of hatchery fish (even the famed Copper River run is comprised of a significant amount of hatchery Sockeye). The Ugashik River is one of the remote western outposts of the fishery that finds habitat in the Bering Sea, the farthest North and quite pristine reach of the North Pacific Ocean between Eastern Siberia and Alaska (try googling Ugashik if you want to see how remote and wild this place is).

 

To virtually meet Traveler and the crew of Salmon and Sable and witness their vision of fishing in this remote and beautiful place, watch the short video below:

 

 

 

 

Fillet sections in 1/3 portions (skin on outside) of Alaska Ugashik River sockeye salmon (also called red salmon because of their deep color) in heavy vacuum pack. Pin bones are removed by hand (hidden ones are extremely occasional). Vac pack is completely labeled and identified as Salmon and Sable origin with Traveler's logo, the weight and packing date. Personally inspected, glazed, vacuum packed and blast frozen by Traveler himself in his remote facility just off the beach along the Ugashik River in Alaska.

 

There is no city or dockside cannery or commercial packing house with sweatshop style packing lines. It is just Traveler, his family and crew handcrafting your food in a pristine and wild place. Watch the video to see the unusual care that the Salmon and Sable crew take with your catch.