Three weeks in

Time flies when you are selling fish, and we have certainly been trapped in the time-space continuum over here at the Loki Fish Headquarters. I end up spending more time at the warehouse than at my own house this time of year, which is a testament to the extremely seasonal nature of our business. It’s been a successful season so far, with strong runs of all 5 species coming down, and the farmers markets, restaurant and wholesale business staying very busy.

Pagliacci’s seasonal Salmon Primo Pizza debuts this week. The pie features our fresh smoked coho on an olive oil base paired with red onions, ricotta cheese, and capers. Yummy.

We are also working with a German film crew from the show “Ocean TV” this week which is a doing a piece on Seattle that we will be featured in. They’ll be coming up to Bellingham on Friday to document the receiving and sorting of the fish, and then filming us at the University District Farmers Market on Saturday. So many things to keep track of!

Here’s some visual samplings of what’s been going on the first three weeks of the season:

Fresh Wild Alaskan Pink Salmon fillet bagged for the farmers market, from week 1 of the 2010 fishing season.

A strikingly similar looking piece of Wild Alaskan Pink salmon with Cindy's cabbage, Oxbow carrots and Tall Grass bread.

A tote of de-iced Fresh Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon from week 1 of the 2010 season.

Fresh 4 oz. jars of Keta Ikura from week 3 of the 2010 season.

The boats will be catching fish in Clarence Strait the next 4-6 weeks. I’ll keep you updated as we get there.

Summer 2010 fishing begins

The boats left for southeast Alaska Wednesday night, and began fishing Sunday at noon. They are fishing the first couple of weeks at Tree Point, and then will be moving farther north into Clarence strait for the remainder of the summer.

I talked to Pete after their first set. Fishing was slow to start which is normal, but they have some fish on board. We will be receiving the weeks catch on Thursday night, and will have limited amounts of fresh available at University and Bellevue Farmers Markets on Saturday, and Broadway, Ballard and West Seattle on Sunday. We will have pink, keta, sockeye and king as well as fresh ikura. I’ll update more when I hear from Pete how fishing is going. Looking forward to it!

Pete Knutson, co-owner of Loki Fish Company, holds the first Loki fish of the 2010 summer season, a bright keta salmon.

F/V Njord deckhand Andrew holds a 15 pound king from the first set of the 2010 season at Tree Point, Alaska.

Tree Point, Alaska.

Puget Sound fall fishing starts this Sunday!

Mid-October has come around rather quick, and the boats are gearing up to go out Sunday to participate in the fall fishing season in Puget Sound. Our first opening is Sunday from 5pm to 9am in Area 10, which is the body of water right around Seattle. It’s a relatively quick season in relation to the summer, and usually lasts about a month.

During the fall season, we harvest Keta, or Chum salmon. While some people have a negative stigma towards this species of salmon, we make believers out of people every year who are willing to try something new. 99% of the stigma is word-of-mouth from people who have caught these fish in the rivers, after their flesh has lost its resiliency and color. When the fish are still bright they truly are a different animal. In fact, many of our regulars who have sworn they only eat Sockeye and King now buy our frozen Keta as a result of trying these fish fresh in the fall!

The first fresh salmon of the fall will be available for the last Columbia City market next Wednesday from 3-7PM, and we should have fish for the weekend markets through the end of October and into the first couple weeks in November. Pete is planning on mainly fishing the area 10 openings, which are twice a week, while Jonah may run up to Possession Sound and fish 4-5 days per week, depending on how the fishing is going. I’ll keep you updated as we start fishing.