My college buddy/roommate Mark had a side gig catching and selling salmon he caught in Southeast Alaska. He sold his catch to restaurants, grocery stores, and individuals around the country.
I was on his email list and on a weekly basis I would get a notice of what was in season and what it would cost per pound to have it shipped.
One day, I get an email that said “Fresh Keta Salmon”.
Keta, what?
Never heard of it.
I called my buddy Todd, a retired Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist, to see if he knew.
Todd said “it’s the dog or chum salmon. Keta is the scientific name of the salmon and the commercial fishing industry is starting to market it that way. It sounds a lot more desirable than a dog or a chum salmon.”
Ah, marketing…
The story of keta salmon reminded me of another fish marketing story, the Patagonian toothfish.
Never heard of Patagonian toothfish? Not many have. However, a lot of people have ordered it without knowing it.
Like the dog/chum/keta salmon, the Patagonian toothfish suffered an image problem. It’s a wonderful tasting fish, but it’s cursed with a not so desirable name. I don’t know who was credited with it, but someone said let’s call this fish a Chilean sea bass.
With a new name, sales have gone through the proverbial roof.
It’s reached a point where strict harvesting regulations have been implemented to prevent overfishing.
The popularity of keta salmon has not reached the same popularity of the Chilean sea bass or other species of salmon for that matter. However, since I first heard about keta salmon I’ve definitely noticed more and more of it in grocery stores.
Are you curious if there are keta salmon in the Kenai River? Yes, there is a very, very small run returning every year. With thousands of river hours under my belt, I’ve netted exactly 4 dog, oops, I mean keta salmon…
Mascot