Products | Fresh and Frozen | King Salmon

King Salmon

(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

Physical characteristics: In ocean-caught fish, skin color is bright silver with a green to bluish back. The back of the king salmon are spotted, as are the tail and dorsal fin. The lower jaw will have black gums (hence the name "blackmouth" in some areas). In more mature fish that are entering fresh water to spawn, the skin color turns from a pink/gray ("blush") to a red/black ("dark" or "redskin"). King salmon are the largest of the five pacific salmon species, with sport-caught fish of over 100# being common in some Alaskan rivers. From a commercial standpoint, fish range in size from 4-40# on a dressed-headless basis.

Seasonality: Most kings are caught during the months of May through September. There are winter troll king fisheries in Alaska that runs from October to April, and troll fisheries in California/Oregon/Washington that run from May-June and August-September.

Major catch areas: Alaska, Canada, Washington, Oregon, California, Russia.

Harvest method: Troll, seine, and gill-net.

Product forms:

• Fresh: Dressed head-on (troll fish) and headless (net-caught fish) are the most common product forms. Also sold fresh are skin-on fillet, steaks and roasts.
• Frozen: Dressed-headless and dressed head-on, graded 4/7#, 7/11#, 11/18# and 18#/+ by quality grade of brite, blush and redskin.
• Value-added: Product can be sold as IQF or vacuum packed fillets, either skin-on or skin-off and bone-in or boneless. Product is also commonly sold in steak and roast form, smoked and canned.

Flavor/texture profile: Depending on maturity, meat color can range from deep red to pale pink or white. Generally, brighter skin color equates to better meat color and quality. Kings are the highest in fat of all pacific salmon species, giving it very rich texture. The large size of the king salmon also gives the meat a large flake size. There is a genetic variety of king with white flesh ("white king"), that is much prized and entirely different than a mature king with white or light pink flesh.

Notes: King salmon has long been prized as the premier salmon for it's sheer size, meat color and richness. Traditional uses include smoking and white tablecloth business in U.S., European and Japanese markets. In recent years, smokers have gradually shifted from wild king to farm-raised salmon for better supply and price consistency. This has opened up availability for increased marketing via domestic channels. King salmon out of the Yukon and Copper Rivers are especially rich in oil as king salmon entering these long rivers must store extra fat in their bodies to make the journey. King salmon are also known as chinook, tyee and redspring, while a pale king salmon is often called a "tullie."