The story of the salmon

Today, the great Alaskan waterways are home to what is the largest – and probably the last – source of wild salmon in the world.

Wild salmon has been eaten in Alaska for generations. Before the introduction of the Western diet, the Alaskan native diet was rich in Omega-3 from salmon and seal meat, and the people showed very few signs of depression or degenerative disease, despite the long, dark winter months. For thousands of years, salmon have been seen as an essential source of life and salmon are deeply woven into the culture. The 3,000 miles of coastline are a labyrinth of waterways, full of pristine rivers and streams fed from nearly constant rainfall. It is the perfect environment for salmon to live and breed.

The fish are born in streams deep in the forest and make their way out to the ocean, where they spend their adult lives. When fully grown, they return to the very stream where they were born. Here, they spawn and then they die – a natual process that feeds well over a hundred different land and water species.

These salmon habitats of Alaska are protected, and a carefully controlled fishing industry ensures this vast natural resource remains sustainable.

Previously, wild salmon was caught across the coasts of Russia, North America and Norway. Today, Alaska is the only certified and sustainable source of wild salmon.