23.2.10

Salmon: The Good, The Bad and The Yummy


Our friends N and E had us over to dinner and even though these phone camera photos clearly do not do the dish justice I wanted to share the recipe because it is so easy and so tasty.
E bought this whole baby salmon at the Chinese market. The fishmonger cleaned and cut everything up for him.
Before you start thinking 'baby' salmon let me assure you that baby salmon is not on any endangered list. (I looked it up).
So this fish was salt and peppered, inside and out then E stuck a handful of julienne leeks into the belly of the fish and baked it at 350 for about 30 minutes (depends on the size of course). As a garnish he added more leeks and drizzled with a teriyaki sauce.  The meal was served with Korean Beef as well.

Here are the basics about good/bad salmon consumption choices from Monterey Bay Aquarium website :
The Good
Alaskan salmon dominates the West Coast salmon market. Over the past 20 years, Alaska has landed roughly 10 times as much salmon as California, Oregon and Washington combined.
Freshwater habitats in Alaska have remained relatively pristine, and salmon originating in Alaska does not face the same damming, deforestation and development challenges as those in California and the Pacific Northwest. The current abundance of Alaska salmon and its habitat reflects the success of the state’s management practices.
For these reasons, wild-caught salmon from Alaska is ranked as a “Best Choice.”
The Bad
One of the biggest concerns is the amount of food required to raise farmed salmon. It generally takes three pounds of wild fish to grow one pound of farmed salmon. The environmental impact of salmon farming is still increasing as global production continues to rise.

Most salmon are farmed in open pens and cages in coastal waters. Waste from these farms is released directly into the ocean. Parasites and diseases from farmed salmon can spread to wild fish swimming near the farms and escaping farmed salmon can harm wild populations. As a result, all salmon farmed in ocean net pens get an "Avoid".
If you have an IPhone you can download the Seafood Watch App for FREE or check out their website at:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

6 comments:

andrea of ffft said...

Wow, this makes so much sense and is SO helpful! Thank you! I love fish, coming from the coast, but I had all but given it up because the negative stuff floating around got a bit overwhelming. I guess it follows that if they are using good practices and taking care of their resources in Alaska, then we should support them and make them a good example for the rest of these industries. I am passing this on to people, thanks again!

PS, I don't comment often, but I like your blog, always something interesting here :)

Ren- Lady Of The Arts said...

Andrea- thank you so much for your comment- I agree that we should support those who are mindful in their practices-

3 hungry tummies said...

No phone camera sucks! I can still see that was a great meal though!

Bo said...

I wish my friends would have me over for dinner and serve a fantastic meal like this.

Ren- Lady Of The Arts said...

I am so lucky to have so many 'foodie' friends.

Anonymous said...

Soooooo-It is OK to eat the frozen Alaska Salmon sold at Costco?
Appreciate the info.

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