Sockeye Salmon
Brightrrdus itfedus
4.5
kilograms

average weight

Lives in both fresh and salt water

6

types in Canada

3
years

sustainable age

History

Sockeye is a bit of a chameleon. The fish is silver when it swims out to sea, where it spends parts of it life, but morphs into a red body with a green head when it makes its way back to fresh waters to reproduce. Of the five species of Pacific salmon, sockeye is the most well-known and was the first of the Pacific salmons to be commercially harvested and canned.

Best sustainable option

Sockeye salmon, farmed or fished, from British Columbia is sustainable.

In Season

janfebmaraprmayjunjulaugsepoctnovdec

Landed

90,444 tonnes

of Pacific salmon were brought onshore and produced in Canada in 2014.

Did you know?

Sockeye salmon was the first of the pacific salmons to be fished commercially.

Taste/Texture

Rich, full flavour.

What to look for

Generally, with salmon, bright skin colour indicates better meat quality. Filets should be moist with no dry or brown spots. The meat should be vibrant in colour. Sockeye salmon will have deep orange or red flesh.

Watch a video on Sockeye Salmon

How to cook

Roasted BC salmon roulade with crab sauce

Soft and lean BC salmon is amazing rolled up and roasted with spices, then topped with a creamy, flavour-packed crab sauce in this luscious dish.

General cooking tips

Salmon can be cooked in a variety of ways, though its high oil content makes it great for smoking. Salmon can also be baked, grilled, or broiled.

More recipes ▸

Meet Chef Spencer Watts

Chef Spencer Watts says cooking is the great love of his life. His father and grandfather were both cod fishermen, so a love of fishing and being on the water runs in his blood. Growing up on the lower mainland of British Columbia, Spencer was inspired by the vast array of fresh local ingredients available.

Spencer is a graduate of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. He quickly progressed through the ranks at The Westin Grand and C restaurant, while training with some of the best local talent in the culinary scene. In 2007 he opened his very own restaurant, ‘Spence on the Coast,’ in Sechelt. Later he started his own local cable cooking show called “Coast Cooking with Spence.”

Spencer is presently enjoying life in Vancouver while working on his cookbook and promoting sustainable seafood.

History

Sockeye is a bit of a chameleon. The fish is silver when it swims out to sea, where it spends parts of it life, but morphs into a red body with a green head when it makes its way back to fresh waters to reproduce. Of the five species of Pacific salmon, sockeye is the most well-known and was the first of the Pacific salmons to be commercially harvested and canned.

Best sustainable option

Sockeye salmon, farmed or fished, from British Columbia is sustainable.

In Season

janfebmaraprmayjunjulaugsepoctnovdec

Landed

90,444 tonnes

of Pacific salmon were brought onshore and produced in Canada in 2014.

Did you know?

Sockeye salmon was the first of the pacific salmons to be fished commercially.

Taste/Texture

Rich, full flavour.

What to look for

Generally, with salmon, bright skin colour indicates better meat quality. Filets should be moist with no dry or brown spots. The meat should be vibrant in colour. Sockeye salmon will have deep orange or red flesh.