Hook and line seafood: The highest quality seafood
Traditional hook and line fishing methods reduce by-catch and produce a tastier fish.
Most of the people we meet can understand that catching fish using hook and line methods reduces by-catch, the unwanted catch that occurs when using mass extraction fishing methods. What people don’t seem to understand is how hook and line fishing methods produce a fresher tasting, better fish.
To us Seafood Producers Cooperative fishermen, the word “troll” has a favorable and proud connotation. However, those outside of Alaska and/or the fishing industry might not have such a favorable impression of the word “troll,” even when used in context of “troll-caught salmon.”
Salmon trollers leaving Sitka harbor.
It is possible that many of our potential customers confuse the lesser known “troll” fishery with the more well-known but negatively regarded “trawl” fishery.
However, salmon caught on hook and line, more technically known by those in the industry as “trolling,” are of superior quality, especially when handled with SPC’s strict handling procedures, because they are caught on the open ocean when their natural oil content, color and texture are at their peak. They are handled One Fish At A Time with the utmost of care.
Our line-caught albacore is caught when the younger albacore are actively feeding, consuming a quarter of its weight each day, making the fish juicy in healthy oils and more beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids than older, larger net-caught albacore from warmer waters. Omega-3s are associated with reducing the risks or effects of heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, cancer, arthritis, lupus and other diseases. Also, many people who generally do not like fish still enjoy the mild taste of line-caught albacore.
In contrast, fish not caught on hook and line, fish caught using mass extraction methods, pile up on a boat’s deck. These fish might be dead for hours in a net before they are handled. Salmon caught using mass extraction methods often are caught right by a river’s mouth, so that the salmon might be going through the morphological changes that take place before they spawn. These changes in their bodies when approaching their spawning rivers give the salmon an off-taste. Or what we would call the “salmon stank” that those not fans of salmon tend to mention in their reasons for not liking salmon.
Hook and line seafood: The highest quality seafood. Those who know use hook and line seafood.
