Shinkeijime Salmon - 1 lb

Species: Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Catch Date: 07/22/26
Consume or Freeze Date: 07/26/26
Captain: Patrick Wright
Boat: F/V Zena
Port: Santa Cruz
Catch Method: Trolling Lines
MBSFW Rating: Good Alternative
 This product may contain bones

What is the difference between Chinook Salmon and Shinkeijime Salmon?: They are the same species of fish, but they're handled differently. Shinkejime is a traditional Japanese slaughter method used by fishermen as soon as they've brought the fish aboard. The fishermen inserts a spike into the fish's brain cavity and bleeds the fish out to achieve an instantaneous kill, or a considered kill as it's called. This method is called Ikejime and is thought to be more humane. The Shinkejime method takes it a step further to ensure the highest quality fillet is achieved by addressing the fish's nervous system because the stress caused by suffocation takes a toll on the fish's biological composition. The Shinkejime method is used by inserting a thin wire through the spinal cord of the fish to paralyze the nerves and disconnect them from the muscles. Shinkejime ensures the best possible quality of the fish's texture, visual appearance, smell, and flavor of the culinary product while freeing the fish from any stress or pain during the processing.

Biological Information: The Chinook Salmon is a fascinating fish that is born in freshwater streams and rivers. They are unique fish in that they have physiological abilities to adapt to both freshwater and saltwater. The first 3 months to 2 years of their lives are spent in fresh water before migrating to the open ocean where they will end up spending the majority of their lives growing to maturity in 2 to 4 years. In the ocean, salmon feed on plankton, kelp and krill which is what gives them their noticeably pink coloration. When adult Chinook salmon are ready to spawn they migrate back to their ancestral river where the female selectively creates a nest at the bottom of the stream based on her ideal gravel type, water depth and flow. The males then come to spawn with the female and will actively defend their nest site for up to a month before ending their life cycle. Chinook Salmon are a full flavored, high fat content fish with large reddish-orange flakes.

Sustainability: Chinook Salmon in California are fighting an uphill battle. Since the Gold Rush, development on land has lead to the destruction of critical Salmon spawning habitat. The damming of rivers, sedimentation and water diversion projects has meant that huge reaches of essential fish habitat has been blocked or destroyed. With a constrained ability to reproduce, Salmon numbers plummeted. Here locally, the San Lorenzo River which once had runs of 60,000+ fish now sees less than 5000 fish each year. Global warming is also a major contributor as rising ocean temperatures and acidification have lead to increasing variability in bait fish populations. Overfishing has historically been a problem as well. More recently strong regulations backed by extensive scientific efforts has helped to limit the effects of fishing from contributing to the decline of Salmon populations. Every year quotas and the date of season opening is adjusted based on National Marine Fisheries Service surveys. For these reason California Chinook Salmon has been labeled as a “Good Alternative” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.