Wild about salmon — Farmed fish spawns debate in dining circles

Next week, Dix Keller of Cottonwood will make his annual salmon trek to Alaska's Kenai River, about three hours from Anchorage.

The wild salmon have begun their annual run along the Alaskan coast, headed for the spawning rivers, and Keller will spend the week catching five or six fish a day, keeping whatever the fish and game laws allow.

He plans to return to Utah with more than 100 pounds of salmon fillets, vacuum-packed and frozen for his family of four.

"I go because I love the sport, and the salmon is great," he said. "You catch it yourself, so you know it's fresh. I just don't think the farmed salmon is as good as wild."

For those who can't go to Alaska, the next few months afford a chance to buy wild Alaska salmon in local grocery stores and fish markets. Some eateries, such as Gastronomy's Market Street Grill and Broiler restaurants, feature fresh wild king and sockeye salmon while the catch continues from June through September.

"Without question, the most popular fish we serve is fresh, wild Alaska salmon. During the peak of the harvest, we serve over 3,000 pounds every week," said Ty Fredrickson, the Market Street Broiler's general manager.

Two local Wild Oats stores (645 E. 400 South and 1131 E. Wilmington Ave.) are hosting a wild Alaskan salmon barbecue from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Proceeds from the $5-per-plate lunch will go to the National Wildlife Federation's Copper River Delta Coalition.

Which leads people to wondering, what's the difference between "wild" salmon and "farmed" salmon, besides the fact that wild salmon usually costs a few dollars more per pound?

Wild salmon are born in fresh water and migrate to the ocean, where they mature. They faithfully return as adults to spawn in the same streams where they hatched, and this is when they're caught.

Wild salmon are carnivores, living on other smaller fish and insects. If the fish is labeled from Alaska or its rivers (such as Copper River) it's wild, as the state has banned seafood farming.

Nearly 95 percent of all commercially caught salmon in the United States are harvested in Alaska, according to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Because it costs more, restaurant menus will prominently label wild salmon and make it a selling point.

Farmed salmon, mostly the Atlantic species, are raised in net pens in coastal waters on fish meal pellets and then sent to market when they are large enough.