Why is Alaska Gold King Salmon so expensive?
First of all, it’s Alaska Gold Seafood. We’re a fishermen-owned co-op with a reputation for quality. All of our wild salmon is caught on hook and line, which is a fishing method that produces quality over quantity. Each salmon is handled one at a time, giving fishermen time to take care of each fish—each salmon is bled and gutted and then chilled within minutes.
At another level, our pricing is determined like the pricing of just about everything on this planet. Pricing is based on the law of supply and demand. In short, the demand for our king salmon is extraordinary and the supply is limited. This is the most basic reason for why our line-caught king salmon is so expensive.
As a fishermen-owned co-op, our mission is to serve our fishermen and our customers: “We represent small boats, independent fishermen, and co-op values. With great pride in our company, our communities, and every fish we touch, we are committed to producing the finest quality seafood.”
This mission also means that what we work for is to get small boat fishermen the very best price for the fish they catch. As a co-op made up of small boat fishermen, we are a significant player and make up a significant market share of the line-caught king salmon available on the market. Our pricing reflects the reality of what’s going on with wild king salmon.
King Salmon Managed For Sustainability
King salmon stocks are managed for sustainability—meaning that future generations can fish for king salmon. The number of king salmon our fishermen are allowed to catch is in part determined by the Pacific Salmon Treaty. Since king salmon is an “international fish,” it is managed by an international treaty. King salmon swim in the Gulf of Alaska and come back to rivers in Canada and Alaska and as far south as Washington state and Oregon. There are a number of political entities that negotiate for king salmon. And there are a number of constituencies that depend on king salmon—both recreational and commercial fishermen, in addition to subsistence fishermen.
Sustainable harvest numbers are determined by how well king salmon stocks are doing up and down the west coast of the Pacific. (In this case, a stock is a particular sub-species or population of salmon that returns to a specific river in order to spawn.) Ocean conditions determine how well the salmon are fed when they’re out at sea swimming in the gyre that is the Gulf of Alaska. But salmon are also complicated because they depend on healthy river habitats as well as the ocean, since freshwater is where they spawn. River habitats on the west coast are in danger because of encroaching population growth and industrial development. There are a number of river systems in British Columbia that are not doing well. Not to mention the river dams, which present an enormous obstacle for adult salmon returning to spawn and their progeny which then have to make it back out to sea to feed. In an ideal world, there would be no dams on the Columbia River and Snake River, but the numerous dams on these rivers, in particular the Columbia River, do provide a cheap and regenerative source of electricity for human inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest. With stocks in some areas not doing as well as others, the number of harvestable king salmon in the quota determined by the Pacific Salmon Treaty is has declined.
In 2025, small boat fishermen’s king salmon harvest quota was cut by 40%. It must be said that the small boat fishermen (also called trollers) in our fleet have the least political pull and have taken by far the biggest brunt of cuts in harvest quotas. Large vessels called trawlers do not target king salmon but catch and then discard an enormous amount of king salmon as bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska. Their allowable bycatch has not been touched by those that set quotas. Trawlers discard 21,000 “reported” king salmon in a single year, and our trollers are rightfully disgusted by this. You can read about and see the difference between trollers and trawlers here. Between threatened river spawning habitat and the bycatch of king salmon in the Gulf of Alaska, we are left with smaller amounts of king salmon to harvest. This is very detrimental to our small boat fishermen.
Coho Salmon Is A Great Alternative To Our King Salmon
When customers ask about why king salmon is so expensive, I always suggest our coho salmon as an alternative. Frankly, I bring home our coho salmon much more often than our king salmon. Pound for pound, our wild line-caught coho salmon is a much better value. Many of our customers are wrapped up in thinking that king salmon is the greatest fish on earth. And it is really great, but there are other fish in the sea that give king salmon a run for its money. Customers believe king salmon is the best because of its high fat content and high numbers of omega-3 fatty acids, but our sablefish/black cod is fattier and has more omega-3s in a single serving than king salmon. Black cod has 1519 mg of Omega-3s per 3-ounce serving versus 1476mg for king salmon. In my mind, black cod is the king of fish! It’s also super-versatile. In addition, ocean conditions favor black cod. Recruitment (i.e., the number of fish in a species that survive their first year of life) has gone up over the last decade and our fishermen’s quota to catch black cod has gone up dramatically. It’s gone up so much that we can’t catch all of the quota!
But back to our coho salmon. As noted earlier, pound for pound it is a much better value than king salmon. It has plenty of omega-3s. 900mg of Omega-3s in a 3-ounce serving is not quite as many as king salmon or sablefish, but a 6-ounce portion of coho salmon has 90% of the daily recommended vitamin D. And coho salmon is leaner. 240 calories in a 6-ounce coho salmon portion versus a little over 500 calories in the 8-ounce king salmon portions we sell. (Or the equivalent of about 375 calories if it were a 6-ounce portion).
Let’s not quibble about nutrition facts here, because honestly our wild salmon and our sablefish are nutritional powerhouses and you should feel great about eating all of our offerings. We’re just trying to show that our coho salmon is a great option. Another reason I really like our coho salmon is that it’s a little milder than our king salmon—to me, coho salmon is the essence of wonderful, delicate salmon flavor.
Take note if you’re making the switch to coho salmon from king salmon, we cut our coho salmon portions smaller (6 ounces) versus 8 ounces for king salmon. It is also a leaner fish. This is an important note: Reduce your cooking time roughly 20-25% when cooking coho salmon. So for a simple example, I bake two portions of our king salmon at 400 F for 11-12 minutes versus 9-10 minutes for two portions of coho salmon at the same temperature. Your oven temp and tastes for how cooked you like your salmon may vary, but just note that you should cook coho salmon less than king salmon or it will dry out and become less favorable.
All in all, we hope this explains why king salmon is expensive. We have not included the enormous costs of shipping a perishable item to your door. Having our Alaska Gold Seafood delivered to your door is a premium experience.
