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PRIMARY SOURCE
Alaska, B.C., Washington
SEASON
July-September
PRODUCTION METHOD
Seine, gillnet, troll.
DEFECTS
•Dry skin, excessive scale loss
•Soft flesh.
•Bones protruding from belly cavity.
•Gaping in fillets.
•Bruises and blood spots.
SELLING POINTS
• Along with chums, pinks offer an inexpensive salmon alternative.
•Good quality pinks are an affordable, whole fish option in
targeted markets.
COOKING SUGGESTIONS
Pinks have the lowest oil content of the five Pacific salmon species,
and a more delicate, trout-like flavor. They are also the smallest
of the salmon, and therefore usually don’t have very large
fillets. For this reason, broiling or grilling is not recommended,
as the heat can dry out the fillet. Instead try poaching or baking.
Marinating the salmon ahead of time will brighten up its flavor,
or try a nice, buttery red currant sauce to increase its flavor
profile.
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SCIENTIFIC NAME: Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
MARKET NAME(S): Pink salmon.
SIZE RANGE: To 5 lbs., but typically 2 to 4 lbs.
YIELD: From whole fish to skin-on, pinbone-in fillets: 52%.
PRODUCT FORMS:
FRESH: H&G, skin-on, pinbone-in fillets;
FROZEN: H&G, skinless, boneless portions, blocks.
STORAGE & HANDLING: Properly handled
and well iced at 32°F, pinks will remain in good condition for
up to 7 days after harvest. Frozen pinks will remain in good condition
up to a year if stored at -5° to -15°F.
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PINK SALMON
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This is the big salmon—at
least in terms of volume. In a good summer, more than 200 million
pink salmon will return to the rivers and streams of North America.
In terms of size, though, pinks are the smallest of the five species
of Pacific salmon, averaging just 3 pounds apiece. To handle the huge
volume of pinks, salmon canners have been cranking out 1-pound talls
for more than 100 years. These days, though, more pinks are being
routed to fillets lines, where they are used in a growing variety
of value-added seafood products.
In a typical year, pinks will account for about 60% of the total North
American wild salmon harvest. More than 90% of the harvest comes from
Alaska. In a good year, more than 200,000 tons of pinks are caught
by North American fishermen.
Pink salmon harvests are larger in odd-numbered years. In Alaska,
for example, from 1988 to 1998, even-year pink harvests averaged 121,000
tons, while odd-year harvests were 154,000 tons. Although Alaska processors
have developed markets for fresh and frozen pinks, more than 85% of
the Alaska pink catch is still canned. In the U.S., the largest market
for canned pinks is in the Southeast, where salmon croquettes are
a popular food. The U.K. is the largest single export market for canned
pinks. Pink salmon harvests on both sides of the Pacific have increased
over the past 20 years, as major investments have been made in salmon
hatcheries, which have boosted production in areas such as Prince
William Sound in Alaska and the Sakhalin Islands in Russia. Russia
has a large pink salmon resource, with catches that can reach 200,000
tons in odd years. Russian pinks tend to be larger and have redder
meat than Alaska pinks. A high percentage of Russian pinks are caught
in traps and as a result are of the highest quality. A large quantity
of Russia’s pink salmon harvest is exported to China, where it
is processed into a variety of skinless, boneless salmon products,
which are exported to the U.S. Alaska trollers catch a small amount
of pinks and freeze them at sea. Although troll pinks cost about twice
as much as frozen net-caught pinks, they are an excellent value. Because
it has less oil than other salmon, the meat of a pink, which is a
pale red (hence the name “pink”), is mild tasting, almost
trout-like. |
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The
Pacific Advantage
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Close
relationship with Alaska processors ensures consistent supply
of fresh and frozen pink salmon. |
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