Fun Facts About Seafood: Why You Should Buy King Salmon

Why should you buy king salmon and add it to your regular repertoire of healthy foods? Fresh king salmon may be one of the healthiest, most health-giving foods you can eat. In fact, the more you know about fresh salmon, the more you’ll understand why nearly every nutritionist tells you that you should be eating more of it. Here are some fun facts about king salmon – also commonly called Chinook salmon.
King salmon is the largest of the salmon species – you don’t think they call it king for nothing, do you? The royal fish is also known as Tyee salmon, Columbia River salmon, black salmon, chub salmon, winter salmon, blackmouth and hook bill salmon. It’s one of the most highly regarded fish, both for sport and for eating. The succulent bright orangey-pink flesh is everything that makes people love to eat fresh salmon.
The largest king salmon on record was caught on May 17th, 1985. The 97.4 lb. beauty was nearly 5 feet long. While that particular fish was exceptional, it’s not at all unusual for fishermen to bring in fresh king salmon weighing between 10 and 50 lbs., and king salmon of 100+ inches are not uncommon in some waters. That’s an awful lot of king salmon fillets.
King salmon are strictly West Coast fish. You won’t find them hanging out off the boardwalk in Jersey or lazing around the Florida shores. They’re native to Alaska, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. In other words, if you’re not from the West Coast and you want to buy king salmon, you won’t find fresh king salmon in your local fish markets. Luckily, you can buy king salmon from an online seafood market on the West Coast.
While the king salmon is the least abundant of all salmon species, the population is carefully managed to ensure that there are abundant stocks of salmon, as well as other Pacific fish. That means that when you buy king salmon, you’re making an ecologically responsible choice – it truly is sustainable seafood.
Much of the fresh king salmon available is caught in the pristine northern waters off the Pacific Northwest coast. Wild-caught fresh king salmon is a treasure trove of heart-healthy omega-3s. High in protein, low in saturated fat, king salmon packs a whopping 1,700 mg of omega-3s in a single serving.
Cook it or eat it raw, you can’t beat fresh king salmon for flavor. The high fat content makes them the ideal candidate for grilling, broiling, baking or sautéing. If you decide to buy king salmon for sushi, make sure you only buy the freshest fish available. Check out an online seafood market to get the freshest king salmon steaks and king salmon fillets possible without living on the wharf.