(photo credit: ssraa.org)
Snow Pass Coho: A summer coho that behaves like a sockeye is here for a limited time. So make sure you don’t miss out on this exceptionally fresh salmon available at all our retail locations or wholesale through your rep.
What makes this fish a must have on your table this summer season? A unique, summer-run strain of fish, Snow Pass Coho are the first Coho available for harvest each season. Summer-run salmon behave differently than their fall-run counterparts; they return to their native streams in early summer, instead of the fall, and mature more slowly in cool, deep waters. This behavior is greatly beneficial to the salmon’s quality. All wild salmon stop feeding when they enter their native freshwater, and build up fats and oils beforehand to sustain them through this period.
Since summer-run salmon return to their fresh waters for a longer period each year than fall-run fish do, they build up a much higher fat and oil content in anticipation of the longer fast. This translates into a fish with enhanced flavour and texture, and a superior fish on your tables. Their red meat, high oil and fat content and superior texture make Snow Pass Coho a highly regarded product among discerning chefs.
(photo credit: ssraa.org)
When the adult Snow Pass Coho return to their fresh waters in the summer, they are quickly harvested. About half of the harvest is taken by commercial gill nets, twenty percent is caught by sport fishermen, and the remaining fish make it to Neck Lake, where 7 Seas Snow Pass Coho is harvested.
When they enter the lake, they inevitably arrive at a holding raceway.
(photo credit: ssraa.org)
When the raceway is full enough, a very unique harvesting process begins. The fish in the full raceway are released into holding totes. The totes are charged with carbon dioxide, which stuns the fish without direct contact, thus ensuring that the fish are free of scars or marks normally attributed to harsh harvesting techniques. After the fish are stunned, they are immediately bled and iced, and sent to Ketchikan for processing. The fish are processed and on their way to our plants in under 48 hours. These ultra-efficient processing techniques bring a whole new meaning to the idea of “fresh fish”.
7 seas is pleased to offer Snow Pass Coho, a fish who’s Neck Lake habitat is carefully controlled for sustainability and environmental well-being. Additionally, in a time when farmed fish is a great debate among consumers, Snow Pass Coho is wild, and Snow Pass harvesting techniques present an attractive alternative to other wild salmon that may be harvested in a more aggressive manner that can be damaging to the fish’s appearance and quality.
Snow Pass Coho run from July to early August, and only one to two hundred thousand fish are available for harvest. At 7 Seas, we are genuinely pleased to include such a superior product to our salmon line.
For more information on the Snow Pass Coho Project please visit here.