Health Benefits of Sockeye vs. Atlantic Salmon
When it comes to wild Alaskan sockeye vs. Atlantic salmon, sockeye is healthier across several considerations.
Due to a diet rich in krill, plankton, and small fish, wild salmon are naturally a good source of omega-3 fatty acids that can help stave off oxidative stress and support heart health. This diet is the reason why salmon are pink or red, indicating the presence of an antioxidant called astaxanthin. When wild salmon have access to clean ecosystems like those in Alaska fisheries, they’re also low in contaminants, meaning they’re a healthy and safe source of protein that anyone can include in their diet on a regular basis.
Because farmed salmon don’t have access to a wild diet, they are often fed soy-and-corn-based feed that must be supplemented with omega-3s and synthetic antioxidants. Without this supplementation, farmed salmon would naturally be deficient in omega-3s and appear a shade of gray, rather than pink or red.
Notably, farmed atlantic salmon, as well as wild sockeye sourced from the Pacific Northwest, can contain elevated levels of PCBs, dioxins, and pesticides, which have been associated with adverse health effects in humans. Infants, children, and women of child-bearing age are especially advised to limit their consumption of seafood with elevated levels of these toxins in order to protect their health.
Classification and name origin
The sockeye salmon is the third-most common Pacific salmon species, after pink and chum salmon.[2] Oncorhynchus comes from the Greek ὄγκος (onkos) meaning "barb", and ῥύγχος (rhynchos) meaning "snout". Nerka is the Russian name for the anadromous form.[3] The name "sockeye" is an anglicization of suk-kegh (sθə́qəy̓), its name in Halkomelem, the language of the indigenous people along the lower reaches of the Fraser River (one of British Columbia's many native Coast Salish languages). Suk-kegh means "red fish".[4][5]
The sockeye salmon is sometimes called red or blueback salmon, due to its color.[5] Sockeye are blue tinged with silver in color while living in the ocean.[3] When they return to spawning grounds, their bodies become red and their heads turn green. Sockeye can be anywhere from 60 to 84 cm (2 ft 0 in – 2 ft 9 in) in length and weigh from 2.3 to 7 kg (5–15 lb).[5] Two distinguishing features are their long, serrated gill rakers that range from 30 to 40 in number, and their lack of a spot on their tail or back.[3]
Sockeye salmon range as far south as the Columbia River in the eastern Pacific (although individuals have been spotted as far south as the 10 Mile River on the Mendocino Coast of California) and in northern Hokkaidō Island in Japan in the western Pacific. They range as far north as the Bathurst Inlet in the Canadian Arctic in the east and the Anadyr River in Siberia in the west. The farthest inland sockeye salmon travel is to Redfish Lake, Idaho, over 1,400 km (900 mi) by river from the ocean and 2,000 m (6,500 ft) in elevation.[6] In the United States, populations of sockeye salmon have been extirpated from Idaho and Oregon.
What does Atlantic salmon taste like?
Farmed Atlantic salmon doesn’t pack the same punch as sockeye salmon. It is significantly less flavorful. Farmed Atlantic salmon is also much higher in fat.
The diet of farmed Atlantic salmon gives them an overabundance of omega-6 fatty acids. This is unnatural for the species, who become bloated and stressed. These characteristics result from their diet of pellets — typically engineered from soy and corn — which is deficient in the nutrients from the wild that give sockeye its rich qualities. These pellets are often supplemented with fish oils, but not nearly enough to match the fat ratios of a wild diet.
The fat profile of farmed Atlantic salmon can also be problematic for the humans who eat this fish on a regular basis. Diets with an excess of omega-6 fatty acids are associated with a higher risk of chronic illnesses. In contrast, diets that have higher ratios of omega-3 fatty acids (featuring foods like sockeye salmon) may lead to healthier outcomes.
Sexual selection and natural selection
Sexual selection favors large males and females.[25] Males choose females based on their readiness to spawn and their size in order to maximize their breeding opportunities. Larger bodies allow females to reproduce larger and more numerous eggs, better nest choice and ability to defend it, and the ability to bury eggs deeper and provide more protection.[26] Females vary their breeding rate depending on the size of the courting male, mating more quickly with larger males. This increases the likelihood that larger males will displace attending, smaller males. Male sockeye salmon social status and greater reproductivity are directly associated with larger body size and more extreme body shapes; Larger bodies provide males with advantages when it comes to intrasexual competition and being selected for by females during reproduction.[26] Males preferentially spawn with females who are red, which is the usual color of females. Even small changes in wavelength, saturation, and brightness can affect preference.
Some traits that lead to reproductive success, such as body size and sexual dimorphism can affect one's survival. This leads to opposing pressures of natural selection and sexual selection. Larger males are favored, unless the risk of predation is very high. Sockeye salmon that die prematurely from predation are typically the larger ones in a population.[27] This shows natural selection against large bodies. Populations with higher levels of predation tend to evolve smaller body size.[28] Without the threat of predation, salmon that breed early in the season live longer than those that breed late in the season.[25]
Other ecological factors like stranding effect select for smaller body size in sockeye salmon when present in a habitat. Stranding is when salmon swim into dry land or shallow water during their migration for spawning and die from suffocation.[28] In fact, studies show that the sockeye salmon with the largest bodies are most susceptible to stranding mortality.[29]
Reproduction is marked by depletion in energy stores. Fat, protein, and somatic energy stores decrease from the final moments in marine migration through freshwater entry, spawning, and death.[23] Sockeye salmon do not feed during reproduction.[22] Feeding ends once they enter into freshwater, which can be several months before spawning.[23] Embryos are maintained with only endogenous food supplies for about 3–8 months.[30] Reproduction in the sockeye salmon has to be accomplished with the energy stores brought to the spawning grounds. How the salmon use their energy during migration and spawning affects how successful they will be reproductively; energy used for migration cannot also be used for courtship. If they waste too much energy, they might not be able to spawn. Males must also make the decision whether to invest energy in fighting for a female or for longevity on the spawning grounds.[22] Sockeye salmon with longer and more difficult migration routes produce fewer eggs on the spawning grounds.[31] High water temperatures also increase the energy expenditure of sockeye salmon as they migrate upriver.[32]
Aggressive behavior displayed by dominant males is predominantly directed towards intruding dominant males. Sometimes sockeye salmon males behave aggressively towards subordinate males. These encounters are short, with the intruding male leaving after one or two aggressive interactions.[22] Spawning females direct their aggression primarily towards intruding females or other spawning females that are close by. However, they may also direct aggression towards intruding or subordinate males.[22] Aggressive interactions between females only last one or two charges and/or chases. The intruder retreats and the spawning female settles back in her redd.[22] These acts of aggression are important in terms of reproductive success, because they determine the quality of the nest site the female obtains and access to males.[22]
Competition for food or space while the salmon are in their lake residence period can exist. This happens when there is a more populous class of young sockeye or when there are multiple classes present. It can also happen when resources are in short supply. Interspecific competition can also occur and can lead to interactive segregation, which is when species emphasize their differences in diet and habitat to avoid competition. Interspecific competition can affect the growth rates of the salmon if their access to resources is limited.[33]
How to Cook Sockeye Salmon
Regarding wild sockeye vs Atlantic salmon, wild-caught varieties generally take less time to cook because they’re leaner.
This is critical to note when cooking with salmon recipes that don’t specifically call for a wild species like sockeye. Most recipes treat farmed Atlantic salmon as the default choice, so cook times will correspond to farmed salmon. When cooking sockeye with these recipes, you should expect to reduce the total cooking time in order to avoid overcooking the fillet.
For recipes with cook times that are more accurate to wild sockeye salmon, explore some of Wild Alaskan Company’s favorite wild salmon recipes. Or, sharpen your wild salmon cooking skills with the help of step-by-step guides.
You may also find that you prefer lean, wild salmon cooked to a different doneness than farmed Atlantic salmon, so it’s worth looking over recommended internal cook temperatures for wild species.
The sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a Pacific salmon that is primarily red in hue during spawning. They can grow up to 84 cm (2 ft 9 in) in length and weigh 2.3 to 7 kg (5–15 lb). Juveniles remain in freshwater until they are ready to migrate to the ocean, over distances of up to 1,600 km (1,000 mi). Their diet consists primarily of zooplankton. Sockeye salmon are semelparous, dying after they spawn. Some populations, referred to as kokanee, do not migrate to the ocean and live their entire lives in fresh water.
Is sockeye salmon dyed?
There’s no reason for wild-caught sockeye salmon to be dyed because they naturally develop the vibrant red hues that we associate with salmon.
Sockeye get this color from a carotenoid called astaxanthin, an antioxidant found in abundance in their wild diet of shrimp, krill, and zooplankton. Of all the wild Pacific species of salmon, sockeye salmon is the variety with the boldest color in their flesh, as their diet is primarily zooplankton. Other species of Pacific salmon consume less of these food and more small fish, so they are subtler shades of pink, orange, and red.
Where to Buy Wild Sockeye Salmon Online
Listed as a Bristol Bay-certified sockeye salmon supplier, Wild Alaskan Company is a trusted source for wild-caught salmon, offering fillets of wild sockeye and coho salmon that are flash-frozen shortly after harvest, processed while frozen, and shipped frozen to your doorstep. Choose your salmon subscription box today to get high-quality, sustainably-caught seafood. Consider sharing the gift of wild salmon to friends and family. Sending the gift of Alaskan seafood to your loved ones is a thoughtful way to show you care.
There are key differences between Atlantic salmon vs sockeye salmon that give each species its unique nutritional profile, flavor, and appearance. These qualities are a direct result of how and where each spends its life, reflecting the complexity of nature and the limitations of human intervention through finfish aquaculture.
Wild sockeye salmon develop their robust qualities in a vast marine ecosystem, swimming thousands of miles over a lifetime in an epic hunt for food. This is in stark contrast to farm-raised Atlantic salmon, who are typically confined to a net pen — often situated in polluted, coastal waters — where they’re fed engineered pellets that can never truly replace a wild diet.
Is Atlantic salmon dyed?
Farmed Atlantic salmon get their color from feed that is enhanced with dyes. These dyes are derived from a carotenoid called astaxanthin. Since farmed Atlantic salmon are primarily fed corn and soy, astaxanthin must be added to the feed to give the salmon a pink color. If farmed Atlantic salmon were not fed these dyes, they would be gray — which isn’t marketable to consumers, because we wouldn’t be able to recognize these fillets as salmon. When buying feed, farmers actually use a color wheel to determine what hue they want their salmon to be when they mature.
It’s important to note that astaxanthin is naturally found in shrimp and krill in the wild, and it is what gives wild sockeye their color, too. However, some salmon farms use synthetically derived astaxanthin to ensure that Atlantic salmon appears pink enough by the time they go to market.
Fisheries and consumption
The total registered fisheries harvest of the sockeye in 2010 was some 170,000 tonnes, of which 115,000 tonnes were from the United States and the rest was equally divided between Canada and Russia. This corresponds to some 65 million fish in all, and to some 19% of the harvest of all Pacific salmon species by weight.[35]
Commercial fishermen in Alaska net this species using seines and gillnets for fresh or frozen fillet sales and canning. The annual catch can reach 30 million fish in Bristol Bay, Alaska, which is the site of the world's largest sockeye harvest.[36]
Sockeye salmon have long been important in the diet and culture of the Coast Salish people of British Columbia.
The largest spawning grounds in Asia are located on the Kamchatka Peninsula of the Russian Far East, especially on the Ozernaya River of the Kurile Lake, which accounts for nearly 90% of all Asian sockeye salmon production,[37] and is recognized as the largest spawning ground outside of Alaska.[38] Illegal fishing in Kamchatka is subject to environmental concern.[39]
Sockeye is almost never farmed. A facility in Langley, BC harvested its first salmon in March 2013, and continues to harvest farmed salmon from its inland facility.[40][41]
United States sockeye salmon populations are currently listed under the US Endangered Species Act[42] by the National Marine Fisheries Service as an endangered species in the Snake River and as a threatened species in Lake Ozette, Washington. The Snake River sockeye salmon was listed as endangered in November 1991, after the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe at Fort Hall Indian Reservation petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Sockeye is an exception to 2010's forecast resurgence of Oregonian fish stocks. Spring Chinook, summer steelhead, and Coho are forecast to increase by up to 100% over 2008 populations. The sockeye population peaked at over 200,000 in 2008 and were forecast to decline to just over 100,000 in 2010. As an early indication of the unexpectedly high sockeye run in 2010, on July 2, 2010, the United States Army Corps of Engineers reported over 300,000 sockeye had passed over Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. Lower temperatures in 2008 North Pacific waters brought in fatter plankton, which, along with greater outflows of Columbia River water, fed the resurgent populations.[43]
Proposed legislative efforts, such as the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, are attempting to protect the headwaters of the sockeye salmon by preventing industrial development in roadless areas.
Record numbers of a once-waning population of sockeye salmon have been returning to the Northwest's Columbia Basin (as of June 2012), with thousands more crossing the river's dams in a single day than the total numbers seen in some previous years.[44]
The conservation status of sockeye populations in Canada is under review by Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of its Wild Salmon Policy strategy to standardize monitoring of wild salmon status.[45] Salmon runs of particular note are the Skeena and Nass river runs, and the most famous is the Fraser River sockeye run.
The Fraser River salmon run has experienced declines in productivity since the 1990s, mirroring a similar decline in the 1960s.[46]
The return abundance (population) of Fraser River sockeye in 2009 was estimated at a very low 1,370,000,[47] 13% of the pre-season forecast of 10,488,000.[48] That represented a decline from the recent (1993) historical cycle peak of 23,631,000[49] and the return abundance was the lowest in over 50 years. The reasons for this (former) decline remain speculative. According to a consortium of scientists assembled to review the problem, the decline highlights the uncertainty in forecasting salmon returns.[50] After the low returns, the Government of Canada launched a formal inquiry into the decline, the Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River.[51][52]
The Commission has been tasked with investigating all the factors which may affect Fraser River sockeye salmon throughout their life cycle. According to the terms of reference,[51][52] the subjects of investigation are "the impact of environmental changes along the Fraser River, marine environmental conditions, aquaculture, predators, diseases, water temperature and other factors that may have affected the ability of sockeye salmon to reach traditional spawning grounds or reach the ocean."
During the commission, hundreds of thousands of documents and scientific research papers were reviewed. Twelve technical reports were published using that information, looking at the possible impacts of diseases and parasites, hatchery diseases, contaminants, marine ecology, salmon farms, fisheries, predators, climate change and government management on the productivity of Fraser River sockeye runs.[53][54]
While the commission was holding public hearings, in the late summer of 2010, the largest run of sockeye since 1913 returned to the Fraser River system.[55] Final counts show that approximately 30 million salmon returned to the Fraser River and its tributaries in 2010. In total, approximately 11,591,000 Fraser sockeye were caught by Canadian fishers and 1,974,000 Fraser sockeye were caught by American fishers. The final projected escapement (fish which were not caught) was 15,852,990 fish.[56]
Recent unpredictable fluctuations in runs are speculated to be due to changing water temperatures.[57] There is high variation in thermal tolerance among the different sockeye salmon populations that migrate up the Fraser River.[58] The Chilko River sockeye salmon population is able to maintain cardiorespiratory function at higher temperatures, which may make them more resilient to the effects of rising river temperatures. In one study examining possible physiological mechanisms underlying these population differences in thermal tolerance, juvenile sockeye salmon from the Chilko River and Weaver Creek did not show any differences in force-frequency response of the heart or cardiac pumping capacity when reared in common garden temperatures at 5 °C and 14 °C.[59] Therefore, the physiology underlying these differences in thermal tolerance has yet to be determined.
Spawning Kokanee salmon in the Sawtooth Range of Idaho
Male ocean-phase sockeye
Female (top) and male (bottom) in spawning colors
Sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska
Closeup of a kokanee salmon
Sockeye salmon are native to the western coast of North America and reside in the northern Pacific Ocean.3 They spend most of their life at sea, but during mating season from July to October, they move inland—some populations as far as western Idaho—for spawning.1 Sockeye salmon hatch in lakes, rivers and streams where they spend their first few years until they develop into young salmon and migrate to the Pacific Ocean. However, there is one sub-species of sockeye salmon called Kokanee that are smaller and land-locked, and do not migrate to the ocean. In the Pacific Ocean, sockeye salmon can be found at depths of 15-33 meters.1 After spending two to three years at sea where they feed and grow, sockeye salmon return to freshwater to spawn, typically in the same stream where they hatched. During mating season, female sockeye salmon lay their eggs in a bed of gravel and then choose a male to fertilize them.1 Males present themselves to the female multiple times, and she judges them on their color and size, to choose the best father for her young.1
Sockeye salmon typically live around 4 to 5 years. Sockeye salmon reach reproductive age at 5 years and die after spawning.1 The oldest sockeye salmon ever caught was estimated to be 8 years old.1 Sockeye salmon are social fish and swim in runs together while making their way to mating grounds. They are also known to form social hierarchies during reproduction whereby the largest male fish are usually the most dominant.1 Sockeye salmon have great senses. Their strong sense of smell helps guide them back to their home stream.
Because of their large size, sockeye salmon are easily spotted by predators.1 Primarily, bears and birds predate on these salmon.1 Sockeye salmon are also some of the most commonly fished species in British Columbia, Canada and Alaska, United States. An important element to consider when talking about salmon as food, is their ability to reproduce. Currently there are many outdated, manmade dams that stand in the way of salmons’ ability to safely migrate upstream to spawning grounds. Hydroelectric dams1 specifically, catch and kill sockeye salmon as they attempt to swim through them—unsuccessfully. This clear problem with dams has led to the decline of many salmon populations including sockeye salmon and Chinook salmon. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species Report considers some sockeye salmon populations as threatened and endangered due to habitat degradation and overfishing.1 Overfishing is rapidly depleting many of the world’s fish populations. Oceana works to reduce overfishing by advocating for science-based catch limits, reducing harmful fishing subsidies, and stopping illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. We are campaigning to stop overfishing and promote sustainable fishing. Join Oceana to learn how you can help restore ocean abundance by stopping overfishing in our oceans.
