Wild salmon fillets and canned pink salmon.
According to Open Purchase Requests on the USDA site, processors OBI Seafoods and Trident Seafoods have won U.S. government contracts for wild salmon for federally assisted meal programs.
OBI Seafoods’ award was for USD 28.9 million worth of canned pink salmon, to be distributed all around the USA, as part of the National School Lunch Program and other Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs.
Trident Seafoods’ contract was for USD 1.9 million worth of frozen wild salmon fillets, for the same program, to be distributed mostly in Kansas City, Missouri.
In terms of wild this season, the trade association the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association wrote in a statement last week that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game expects over 50 million sockeye will return to Bristol Bay this year.
This would allow for a potential total harvest of over 37 million sockeye salmon. A harvest of this size would be 13 per-cent greater than the most recent 10-year average harvest of 32 million fish in Bristol Bay.
Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon’s marketing program has set up salmon promotions in 10 retail chains, including Whole Foods Market state-wide.
OBI Seafoods is the result of Ocean Beauty Seafoods and Cooke-owned Icicle Seafoods merging their wild salmon operations in 2020 in order to form a new company.
