A Sockeye Salmon Question

[Texas Star]

I'm looking at the sockeye salmon painted by Joseph R. Tomelleri, a celebrated fish artist, on my calendar. I buy his calendar every year.

This fish is not in spawning mode, with hooked jaw and vivid red color. It's the normal silver, with no hump.

Can our Alaskan or Pacific NW coast members tell me if meat on these is the same dark pink/red color when not in spawning mode? It's sold as sockeye or red salmon and costs more in cans than does pink salmon.

I wonder if they are usually with pink meat, except during the spawn? I know that hatchery - raised trout served in most restaurants are white-meated, not the pink meat of wild fish.

 

[BearBio]

Jim: My experience is more with Kokanee and rainbow trout/steelhead. I'll check Tuesday with our Fish Bio, if she is in. If not, we have two guide level salmon fishermen.

I understand that the red color is imparted by natural foods (why farm salmon are blah looking!), largely crustacean shells (shrimp, krill, etc). They should, therefore, have the darker meat.

One of the advantages of living in the NW is the availability of salmon=I haven't bought any (except Copper River) in several years. Even Copper River runs us only $7-$8/lb on average. I get several pounds of smoked salmon from the guys each Christmas, as well as maybe some frozen game steaks and jerky. I usually get a couple of Dungeness crab and some razor clams also, if the seasons are good.

BTW: Quit it on the farm salmoned==that stuff will kill ya!

 

[bobf]

I caught a few hundred reds (sockeye) in rivers, mostly the Copper River. I have caught some in salt water in bays fairly close to a river mouth so they were probably on their spawning run.
never saw any white meat.