Common Name	Chum Salmon	Conservation Notes
Scientific Name	Oncorhynchus keta	Sustainability Ratings/Certifications
Market Names	Keta Salmon, Fall Salmon, Silverbrite Salmon	Buying Tips
Sushi Name	Sake	Health/Nutrition

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CHUM SALMON MARKET ALERT - updated May 2011

Buyers looking for some relief from record high salmon prices saw their hopes dashed in April, when the winning bids were announced for the Hidden Falls hatchery in Southeast Alaska, the largest chum hatchery in the state. Ocean Beauty Seafoods, one of the state’s “Big Three” salmon processors, agreed to pay the hatchery $1.40/lb. for cost recovery fish (in Alaska, salmon hatcheries sell a percentage of their returning fish directly to processors to fund their operational costs).  That’s quite a bit higher than last year’s winning bid of $1.10/lb., reflecting processors’ bullish outlook for the salmon market.

Over the past 10 years, Alaska fishermen have seen the price they get for chums jump from $.18/lb. to last year’s record of $.72/lb. in spite of the fact that harvests have consistently averaged about 60,000 metric tons over that period.  Given the high bid price, it’s possible that fishermen could see close to $1/lb. for chums when the fisheries get going at the end of June.

That means prices for frozen H&G chums could reach almost  $2/lb. FOB Alaska. About 60% of the Alaska chum catch is exported, with China by far the largest single market, accounting for slightly over half of all U.S. chum exports. In China, the fish are filleted and deboned and exported to markets in the Americas and Europe. Chinese processors are telling their customers to expect to pay delivered prices between $4-$4.50/lb. for MSC-certified chum fillets from Alaska. 

Reports out of Japan indicate the devastating tsunami should have only a minor impact on Japan’s run of chums, as most of the fish return to hatcheries on the northern island of Hokkaido. This chum resource, which is considerably larger than the Alaska fishery, typically produces landings that average about 150,000 metric tons in a good year. While most of this fish is consumed domestically, Japanese processors export about 30,000 metric tons of chums to China for processing and export as value-added fillets. While the quality of Japanese chums can be excellent, twice-frozen Hokkaido chum fillets from China sell for a slight discount, as transportation costs to China from Japan are lower and the fishery is not MSC-certified.  

Conservation Notes

Advantages: Chum salmon experience a rapid growth rate during their first few months at sea. They have wide distribution in the Pacific, and historically have been the most abundant of the salmon along the coast. While some chum salmon populations were once overfished, most stocks are currently considered healthy, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Chums are caught with purse seine nets, gillnets, and troll gear, all of which rarely touches the seafloor so there is little lasting physical impact on the marine environment.

The Alaska commercial salmon fisheries, which include chum, were certified against Marine Stewardship Council sustainability principles in 2000 and recertified in 2007. Chum and pink salmon fisheries located near Iturup Island in Russia were certified against MSC sustainability principles in 2009. Salmon fisheries in the Annette Islands Reserve of southeast Alaska as well as British Columbia, both including chum, are currently being assessed against MSC principles.

Challenges: Although fishing gear used to catch chum salmon have little environmental impact, the National Marine Fisheries Service reports that lost net gear poses an entanglement risk to marine animals. Most chum bycatch consists of other salmon species.

Sustainability Ratings and Certifications

	Seafood Watch	SeaChoice	FishWise	Blue Ocean Institute	New England Aquarium	Marine Stewardship Council
Alaska Wild-caught	Best Choice	Best Choice	Best Choice	Green	A List	Certified
British Columbia Wild-caught		Some Concerns		Yellow
Washington Wild-caught	Good Alternative	Some Concerns	Good Alternative	Yellow	B List
Oregon, California Wild-caught	Good Alternative	Some Concerns	Good Alternative	Yellow
Iturup Island, Russia Trap-caught						Certified

Rating Explanation

Seafood Watch currently assesses chum salmon fisheries from Alaska in a single assessment and assesses chum salmon fisheries from Washington, Oregon, and California in a separate assessment. Blue Ocean Institute's ratings for chum salmon include separate assessments for Alaska, British Columbia and the states of Washington, Oregon, and California together. All chum salmon fisheries in Alaska and fisheries from select areas of Iturup Island, Russia are certified to the sustainability standard of the Marine Stewardship Council.

Buying Tips

• Chum salmon has a mild taste, is low in sodium, and is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, niacin, vitamin B12, and selenium.
• Since most chum salmon spawns near river mouths, they have lower oil content than sockeye, Chinook, or coho.
• Like other kinds of salmon, chum quality differs greatly depending on the run. Buyers recommend learning about specific runs and their characteristics in order to identify the best salmon.
• Chum are some times sold as coho, a more expensive fish, because they are similar in size. Chum can be identified by a thinner caudal penduncle (the area just in front of the tail).
• Chum is readily available fresh and frozen, both H&G and fillets. Chum may also be canned or smoked.
• Chum salmon can be the best value on the market when the skin is bright and the meat deep red, according to some buyers.
• Chum is graded 2-4, 4-6, 6-9, and 9 up.
• Chum salmon eggs are sold as ikura in Japan, where they have a high value.

Nutrition and Health

Acknowledgements

• Seafood Watch by Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Blue Ocean Institute
• SeaChoice
• Seafood Choices Alliance
• Environmental Defense Fund
• NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service