House on set net site with our stacked up rafts and Popsie flag flowing in the air

Testimonial from Former Salmon Biologist

Dear Fish Lover,

This week I received a box containing ten pounds of frozen Sockeye Salmon fillets caught, processed, and shipped by The Popsie Fish Company. They came frozen hard and attractively packaged. I grilled the first fillet last evening. Delicious.

I am a former Sockeye Salmon biologist once employed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game near where Popsie catches fish. Because I know salmon well, I’m picky about the fish I buy. Popsie’s are the best in terms of quality, rapid shipping, and top notch customer service.  

While living in Alaska, I experimented with many ways of preparing them for the table. My favorite remains the simplest. Lightly grilled. Sockeye has a delicate and delicious taste that needs little or no seasoning. I lightly coat a fillet with olive oil, wrap it in aluminum foil, and grill. It’s easy to overcook salmon, so I cook it gently until it flakes.

Last night we chatted about the amazing journey the fish we were eating took. Hatched from an egg in a small tributary of Lake Becharof, the tiny fish descended to Alaska’s second largest lake and spent two years swimming in its cold sterile water eating zooplankton. Then, on a magical spring night, it joined millions of other small salmon, called smolts, and descended the Egegik River to Bristol Bay. From there it swam west, passed the Aleutian Islands, and circled the northern Pacific Ocean feeding on zooplankton. Then it headed back to the Bay enroute to Lake Becharof until caught by a Popsie Fishermen.

The salmon run is effectively managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to ensure that it is sustainable. One can enjoy eating wild Pacific salmon with no concern about the future of this species. 

Rich Patterson,

co-owner, 

windingpathways.com

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