Silver Salmon - also known as Coho - is the unsung culinary star of Alaska's wild harvest. 

Our Silver Salmon is wonderfully moist, despite having less fat and fewer calories than Sockeye or King.

(Although Silver is 30% leaner than Sockeye, it offers just as many omega-3s ... about 2,000 mg per 6 oz portion.)

Unlike our Sockeye and King, Vital Choice Silver Salmon portions come with the skin on one side, which helps keep them moist on the grill.

Certified Kosher by EarthK.

If you haven't tried our Wild Red Sockeye Salmon you're in for a treat, because it tastes much fresher than standard supermarket brands.

The rich, red color of the meat and oil is unlike any you're likely to have had before.

Our minimal processing methods ensure that you'll get the maximum amount of nutrients naturally abundant in Sockeye Salmon.

These include omega-3s, vitamin D, and astaxanthin: the super-potent carotene-class antioxidant that gives the oil brimming in every can of Wild Red its bright orange-red color. (The liquid in standard canned Salmon is pallid and watery by comparison.)
 

Choose Skinless-Boneless Wild Red, or Traditional Style with skin and soft edible bones for extra flavor and ample calcium.

Both kinds are available with salt (less than is added to most brands) or without added salt ... and several varieties come in EZ-Open pull-tab tops.

“You are providing a wonderful health-giving service to the planet with your business. And it is a pleasure to bring this information to my audience. It is also a pleasure to snap open these little cans of salmon and have an instant healthy meal!”

-- Christiane Northrup, M.D.

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing dieters stems from the body’s built-in hunger response to deprivation.

As we reported last year, the results of a small clinical trial indicated that omega-3 fish oil supplements make very-low-calorie diets more satisfying.

In that 2007 study from Czechoslovakia, 20 obese women were randomly assigned either to a very-low-calorie diet plus omega-3 supplements, or to the same very-low-calorie diet plus placebo capsules.

Sea lice from poorly sited Salmon farms in British Columbia (BC) could extinguish Pink Salmon from western Canada, according to highly credible research.

For more on that critical threat – which American Salmon consumers could help resolve – see “A Bold Plan to Save Canada's Wild Salmon”.

(The Alaskan fisheries that supply all of our frozen wild Salmon are safe and abundant, as explained on our Sustainability page.)

In Norway and Scotland, escaped Atlantic Salmon interbreed with the few remaining wild Atlantic Salmon ... an existential threat we reported in “Record Salmon Escapes Threaten ‘Extinction Vortex’”.

Canadian escapees possess threatening appetites
The 29,000-plus farmed Atlantic Salmon that escaped from offshore net pens in western Canada last week cannot interbreed with wild Pacific Salmon.

But farmed Atlantic Salmon are bred to be voracious feeders, so they will compete with wild Sockeye, King, Pink, Silver, and Keta Salmon for food, and may well eat their young.

The solution – solid-walled “containment” pens located safely onshore – is widely used for catfish and certain other farm-raised species, but very rarely for Salmon. (See “Onshore Salmon farms”, below.)

The potential impact of continuous industrial Salmon escapes – that is, the essential extinction of wild Pacific Salmon by exposure to escaped Atlantic Salmon – is irreversible and totally unnecessary.

Based on the industry’s sorry history of large, ongoing Salmon farm escapes, the latest breakout was entirely predictable.

Farmed Salmon escape in Canada seen as no surprise

The latest Salmon farm fiasco happened about 125 miles northwest of Vancouver, Canada, smack in the middle of Canada’s priceless wild Salmon runs, and uncomfortably close to some of Alaska’s wild Salmon runs.

One corner of an underwater pen collapsed, opening an easy escape route for almost 30,000 industrially farmed Atlantic Salmon.

The huge Norwegian company involved – Marine Harvest, which dominates western Canada’s farmed Salmon industry – has only managed to recover a few hundred fish.

CBC News quoted Vancouver Island fishing guide Henry Spit: “Within hours of the release, Atlantics are biting the hooks. … A few have been angled so far. They've been caught, and they're 13- to 14-pound Atlantics. These predators identify Pacific smolts as feed. There's a huge danger of ...

We thought our readers might be interested to read the following report by renowned seafood nutrition expert Joyce Nettleton, DSc, whom we've know for several years.

We've reported on this topic before, but Dr. Nettleton puts it all together very clearly and succinctly in one place. It's a keeper!

Seafood: Weighing the Benefits and Risks

By Joyce A. Nettleton, DSc, January 2008

Few foods have confused consumers as much as seafood. Even though the health benefits associated with eating fish and shellfish continue to expand, fears of seafood contaminants sometimes overshadow the good associated with eating more fish.

Are we being irrational? Risk experts say that people exaggerate the chance of rare but nasty events occurring, following their gut instincts rather than logic. Faced with conflicting information, consumers say, “Why take the chance when I don’t have to?” This paper takes a close look at what we might gain or lose by eating fish and shellfish more often.

US Seafood Consumption

Compared with meat and poultry, Americans eat little seafood, about 14 g (½ oz) a day versus 210 g (7 ½ oz) a day for meat and poultry. Most people eat fewer than 2 servings of fish/week, the amount currently recommended. Low seafood consumption means that the intakes of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids—mainly EPA and DHA (eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids)—are also low, about 100 mg/day.

These fatty acids occur almost exclusively in seafood and cannot be substituted by the omega-3 fatty acid found in plants. That is because only tiny amounts of the plant omega-3 are converted to the active long-chain forms. In contrast with Americans, Japanese adults consume 2 to 13 times more seafood, eating fish once to 8 times a week.

Low US seafood consumption is of particular concern for pregnant and nursing women. They obtain about 100 mg of DHA/day, half what experts believe they need for themselves and their infants—200 mg of DHA daily. The result of not eating much fish appears in the low DHA content of US women’s breast milk (chart). The question is, do these low intakes matter? Much evidence says they do.

Special Need for DHA in Pregnancy and Lactation

Just as vitamins and minerals are needed for fetal development during pregnancy, so long-chain essential fatty acids are key nutrients for the developing nervous and vascular systems. Sufficient arachidonic acid, a long-chain omega-6, is provided in the usual diet, but adequate DHA depends on dietary intake and tissue stores of the preformed fatty acid. Vegetarians and women who do not eat fish have lower levels of DHA than women who eat fish or other foods with preformed DHA, such as omega-3-enriched eggs.

Their infants also have less DHA. Higher maternal DHA translates into higher DHA in the infant. DHA is needed for the infant’s brain and eye development, brain structure and function, cognitive development, visual acuity, more mature sleep patterns and for healthy immune system maturation. DHA also contributes to slightly longer gestation with lower chance of complications or preterm delivery.

Mothers who consume more DHA during pregnancy lose less of their own DHA and may be less prone to postpartum depression. For these and other reasons, most US women need to boost their DHA intake during pregnancy and lactation.

Diverse Health Benefits From Seafood’s Long-Chain Omega-3s

The long-chain omega-3s found in seafood benefit everyone’s health. Evidence continues to accumulate revealing how seafood omega-3s may improve our health. The benefits include:

Heart health

• Lower chance of dying from coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death (20 to 50% less likely);
• Improved electrical properties of the heart, including more stable rhythms, lower heart rate and better heart rate variability (adaptability);
• Less chance of a first heart attack and other nonfatal cardiac events;
• Improved blood lipid patterns with lower blood triglycerides (fats) and higher HDL or “good” cholesterol levels; however, seafood omega-3s have little effect on LDL or “bad” cholesterol;
• Less unwanted blood clotting that could lead to a heart attack or stroke;
• Reduced inflammation, an underlying contributor to heart disease and other disorders;
• Healthier blood vessel function and blood flow;
• Slower progression of atherosclerosis and clogged arteries

Brain function

• Sharper brain function including neurotransmission (communication between brain cells), protection of neurons from injury and disease, rapid responses to hormones and regulatory substances, and improved brain cell repair and regeneration;
• Healthy cognition and memory, especially in aging; seafood omega-3s may lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias and possibly Parkinson’s disease;
• Proper brain growth and development in fetal and infant life; insufficient intake of DHA and EPA is associated with lower brain DHA content and a greater chance of childhood behavioral disorders such as dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and conditions affecting movement and coordination;
• Mental health– Reduced risk and severity of several mental disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, and mood disorders such as anxiety, hostility and aggression.

Visual function

Long-chain omega-3s are vital for healthy visual and retinal function; they may lower the chance of developing age-related macular degeneration and possibly cataract, dry eye, glaucoma and other visual disorders.

The retina has the body’s highest concentration of DHA, which aids in converting light to visual signals and in dim-light and night vision. DHA promotes healthy visual development in early infancy and protects against loss of blood vessels in visual damage.

Immune function

• Seafood omega-3s promote immune system maturation in infancy and may lower the chance of childhood allergies. Increased omega-3 consumption may ease the symptoms of inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, certain allergies and digestive disorders. Omega-3s tone down overactive immune responses making symptoms less severe, but they do not cure the conditions.
• High levels of long-chain omega-3s have been used to treat ...

Today’s recipe features rosemary, whose heady, “piney” aroma makes it the perfect seasoning for grilled or broiled fish and meats – especially Sockeye and lamb – as well as omelets and frittatas, chicken, and tomato sauces or soups.

In the Middle Ages, rosemary’s apparent ability to fortify the memory transformed it into a symbol of fidelity known as the “herb of remembrance”.

In fact, rosemary’s phenolic compounds increase circulation to the head and brain, thereby improving concentration and memory, and also reduce systemic inflammation.

Rosemary is also shown to protect the liver, inhibit tumor activity, enhance digestion, and reduce the severity of asthma attacks.

But in this case, we’re content with the deep flavor it adds to an easy dish!

Rosemary Prawns with Penne and Squash

We adapted this recipe from one by contributor “cookie” at DayRecipe.com.

You can skip the winter squash if you wish, or use zucchini if it is unavailable seasonally.

Serves 3-4

1 lb dry penne pasta

1 1/4 cups winter (butternut or acorn) squash, peeled and diced OR zucchini, peeled and diced

1 lb wild Pacific Spot Prawns, peeled and deveined

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped finely (or 1 tsp dried organic rosemary)

2 garlic cloves, minced finely (or 1 tsp organic garlic granules)

1 teaspoon sea salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon organic black pepper, divided

3/4 cup whole organic milk

3/4 cup chicken or ...