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.
Engage Youth with Sailors for the Sea
Oceana joined forces with Sailors for the Sea, an ocean conservation organization dedicated to educating and engaging the world’s boating community. Sailors for the Sea developed the KELP (Kids Environmental Lesson Plans) program to create the next generation of ocean stewards. Click here or below to download hands-on marine science activities for kids.
Additional Resources:
NOAA Fisheries conducts various research activities on the biology, behavior, and ecology of sockeye salmon. The results of this research are used to inform management decisions for this species. Sockeye salmon have not been assessed.
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.
What does sockeye salmon taste like?
Between its texture and flavor, sockeye is one of the boldest species of wild salmon. If you’ve never tasted sockeye salmon before, the first bite of this species might be a pleasant surprise. Its robust flavor and texture are a reflection of its habitat and life cycle, giving you a true taste of nature.
Sockeye has a “salmon-forward” flavor that is bold enough to enjoy on its own or to be paired with intense flavor profiles. This species also has a meaty, dense quality as it is quite lean — but it’s a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.
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.
Is sockeye salmon better than farmed Atlantic salmon?
Yes, when you compare the health impact and environmental effects of sockeye vs farmed Atlantic salmon. Sockeye salmon from Alaska is rich with nutrients from the wild and is more flavorful than farmed Atlantic salmon.
Farmed Atlantic salmon is fed dye to resemble wild salmon, but it’s much less flavorful. More importantly, farmed Atlantic salmon is contaminated with chemicals that can have a serious effect on your personal health. The practices espoused at a typical salmon farm also contaminate surrounding ecosystems and create competition for resources between farmed salmon and wild species.
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.
What does sockeye salmon taste like?
Between its texture and flavor, sockeye is one of the boldest species of wild salmon. If you’ve never tasted sockeye salmon before, the first bite of this species might be a pleasant surprise. Its robust flavor and texture are a reflection of its habitat and life cycle, giving you a true taste of nature.
Sockeye has a “salmon-forward” flavor that is bold enough to enjoy on its own or to be paired with intense flavor profiles. This species also has a meaty, dense quality as it is quite lean — but it’s a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.
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.
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.
