Talk Vancouver

Sockeye Salmon Prices

Category: Food

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Photo of Peter S.
8/28/2010 Peter "I don't do walls" S. says:

Thought I would start a thread so we could all keep up to date with the price of Sockeye. And where to get the best deal in town.

I just got back from the Steveston docks...

$25 a fish (about 5-6 pounds each). I am not sure when this price drop I keep hearing about is going to happen. It is not this morning at least. My fish were caught last night though, and not during the special commercial opening.

I did pick up some fresh sardines as well. $5 for 8.

The docks we pretty busy for a Saturday morning at 8am.

Happy fishing everyone.

  1. Photo of Peter S.
    8/28/2010 Peter "I don't do walls" S. says:

    A friend bought three for $35 the other day near the Massey tunnel. But they were obviously from a less than legal source.

  2. Photo of David L.
    8/28/2010 David L. says:

    In my opinion, 25 dollars is an okay deal. Although,it's much lower than Granville Island Public Market which sold fresh sockeyes for an average of 60 dollars a fish a few years ago.  35 dollars is way too expensive when you look at all the sockeyes that are returning this year. Two weeks ago, I saw fresh silver coloured sockeye salmon at Superstore for 16-18 dollars. It had to be ocean caught too because the Fraser river sockeye salmon commercial fishing season didn't  start two weeks ago.  I didn't buy it, so there was no way of confirming if their fresh label was really true.  I heard that the fisherman in the Steveston docks are selling the sockeyes for about 4 dollars a pound. If they sell the salmon to the distributers, they will normally get about 1 dollars a pound.  Expect prices to drop to 2 dollars a pound for the public.

  3. Photo of Jenni B.
    8/28/2010 Jenni "Yelp is Not a Singles Bar" B. says:

    Peter - get a license and go fishing!! My fella loves fishing so he is going every opportunity he gets - he's just back from his annual fish trip and is planning on going fishing on the fraser next week.

  4. Photo of Rachael T.
    8/28/2010 Rachael "Miss. Bakeaholic" T. says:

    Thanks for thread Peter - I was going to go today... maybe it is better to wait?

    What about Wild Sockeye Sashimi? Where is good to buy that as well?

  5. Photo of Steven M.
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    8/30/2010 Steven M. says:

    Buying directly from the boats tends to be expensive because they're selling them individually.

    If you get at Granville Island or Super Store you get a better deal.

    Peter, your friend probably bought aboriginal food fishery fish. I've seen food fishery fish advertised for as low as $5 per salmon.

  6. Photo of Peter S.
    8/30/2010 Peter "I don't do walls" S. says:

    $5  where?

    The only problem with grocery stores is the fish is old. I prefer fresh as possible. I guess the extra $$$ is worth it in this case.

    Maybe prices will drop this week with the fishery opening again for two days???

    Sashimi? Well... we used to eat it right off the fish up north. I guess we risked it a bit. The flash frozen ones that will appear this week may be ok for sashimi.  I am not an expert though.

  7. Photo of Reena M.
    8/30/2010 Reena "Maple me up" M. says:

    Just an FYI from a food scientist, a high quality fish distribution company that will put food safety first has to receive fish from the boats at a certain receiving temperature. And if the temperature is even 1 degree above, they reject the lot.  This is the case with Ocean wise seafood sold in restaurants.  So Oceanwise not only guarantees sustainable, but it also theoretically guarantees safety.  

    Then a seller's fish is rejected, they will go to the next highest buyer with a discounted price until someone buys the fish. So in many cases, the cheaper the fish, the more likely it has been temperature abused.

  8. Photo of Lee N.
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    8/30/2010 Lee "NWdiver" N. says:

    Go down Friday morning after 2 more openings, the commercial buyers are loaded and the price should drop to $12-15 a fish. I bought 5 for $100 at the False Creek Fisherman's wharf, I was the last sale of the day and the 2 openings had just been announced, I assume prices went down in Steveston late yesterday after the announcement of 2 more long openings. It might have been me haggling and the sight of several $100 bills in my hand.

  9. Photo of Kat S.
    8/30/2010 Kat "with club sauce" S. says:

    I went to Steveston yesterday afternoon.  It was pretty busy, but apparently it was even busier the day before.  I had to wait in line for a while, and then wait a bit more for another boat to come in, but in the end I got my sockeye.  $4/lb uncleaned, or $5/lb cleaned.  I bought the uncleaned fish, since I can gut it myself, and walked away with a beautiful salmon for $20.  I got stopped about 15 times on my way back tot he car asking how much I paid.  The fish have been flash frozen at sea and I was told they are sashimi grade and safe to eat raw.  $20 for a whole sockeye isn't that bad when you think about it.  Especially when you compare it to a couple high quality steaks.  

    I honestly hope salmon prices stay high.  I think a lot of people take for granted the salmon we have, and think of it as a year-round food source.  Really salmon are seasonal, and shouldn't be eaten all the time.  They should be treated as a delicacy.  But that's just the biologist in me coming out, and I won't get into it further.

  10. Photo of Peter S.
    8/30/2010 Peter "I don't do walls" S. says:

    @ Reena & Kat.... Thank you for the bio/nutritional point of view. I never really thought about temp abusing etc.
    And as far as only eating salmon in the season... well, that's why I canned all mine the past two days. 8 litres to be exact.
    I will enjoy this years catch all winter long!

    And as far as rock bottom prices, I guess my initial frenzy has worn off. I hope for fair prices for us hungry locals, and for the fisherpeoples to make some much deserved cashola.

    I do like the sounds of $15-$20 fish though!
    I need a few more to steak up for the freezer.

  11. Photo of Kat S.
    8/30/2010 Kat "with club sauce" S. says:

    Nice, Peter!  Did you use a pressure cooker to do the canning?  I bet that'll be a nice treat in the winter.  

    Yeah, the prices are good at $20 for a fish, and I think fair, and I wouldn't want to pay much less since I heard on the radio this morning that the fishermen/women are only making about $0.80/lb on the fish in the end.  I'm glad they have had a chance to make some money this season.  Though I am a bit worried that DFO has effed up their numbers, yet again, and that we will hear in a week that the run wasn't really as big as they thought.  

    To be honest, I am really surprised at how many people are still trying to make a living off of the fishing industry.  I have heard so many reports of people just breaking even this year, that it makes me wonder why anyone would continue, or try and start out in the fishing industry.

  12. Photo of Lee N.
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    8/30/2010 Lee "NWdiver" N. says:

    The fact is they stopped making a living many years ago. All fishermen have other occupations. It pissed me off 20-25 years ago when fishermen who fished for 15-20 days a year whined about not making a good living (they would tell me they worked on fixing their boat and getting it ready all winter), anyone who only works several days a year shouldn't expect to make "a living". It was the seiners that really whining that they couldn't make a living with only 2 or 3 two hour openings per summer.

  13. Photo of Kat S.
    8/30/2010 Kat "with club sauce" S. says:

    The trawlers pretty much killed it for everyone.  My Uncle got out long ago, and predicted the fisheries collapse back then.  Unfortunately no one listened to him, and suspected him of just being greedy because the trawlers were competition.  He was more worried about the fish stocks than the competition.  
    If you only fish one species, then yeah, you aren't going to be working many days of the year.  It's a huge investment to have a boat, and an awful gamble these days.  You would have to have another job, otherwise there is just no way to survive.  

    As a diver, Lee, I'm sure you have noticed the loss of rock fish, or at least heard of it from the old-time divers.  Pretty sad situation.

  14. Photo of Steven M.
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    8/30/2010 Steven M. says:

    If it wasn't for the fact that I just got back from the Haida Guai and have 98 pounds of salmon in my freezer (down from the 103 I originally returned with), I'd be lining up to do some recreational fishing.

    Kat, you seem to know a fair bit about the fisheries. Is there any truth to these reports that if too many salmon make it up to spawn that they wind up laying eggs on each other and salmon corpses destroy many of the eggs?

  15. Photo of Lee N.
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    8/30/2010 Lee "NWdiver" N. says:

    @Kat  seiners, no trawlers in the salmon fishery, now trollers are the most sustainable and produce the highest quality but are the most work so they were first to go, very few left.

  16. Photo of Kat S.
    8/30/2010 Kat "with club sauce" S. says:

    @ Lee - I was speaking about the fisheries industry as a whole, not just the salmon.  They use seines, or gill-nets for salmon fishing, yes.  And I think you are confusing trawlers with trollers.  Trawlers are not in the least way sustainable.  Trollers were fairly sustainable.  Also called long-liners.  Deep water trawlers scrape the ocean floors and drag up everything with it.  Horrible things that can cause extensive damage to sensitive ecosystems such as the glass sponge reefs near Haida Gwaii.

    @ Steven - Chatting with my boss this morning it is clear that DFO is in the business of managing a fishery, and not the fish.  I don't believe there is much truth to the argument that there will be losses to salmon by there being too many.  Salmon corpses are vital parts of the ecosystem as it is, and provide nutrients not just to the streams, but to the adjacent forests.  Salmon carcasses aren't likely to be smothering the eggs either, as they will get washed off to the sides of the rivers, and caught up in branches and other woody debris, where they will fertilize the stream for the next generation of salmon.  Bears, and in areas where they eat them, wolves, will thrive off the abundance of salmon and the ecosystem will balance things out.  There is no waste.  There were fears last year that the bears would suffer over the devastating returns that we had.  Maybe this year they will have a good year and produce more offspring over the winter if they fatten up enough this fall.  I'm sure the bear watching tourism folks will be enjoying this.

    Perhaps there could be salmon redds being dug up, but I doubt that there will be a total collapse because of "too many" salmon returning.  What is too many, anyhow?  Isn't this what we wanted?  DFO is only responding to the pressure by the fishermen to allow more harvest, and this is an easy excuse to do so.  My only hope is that there hasn't been a mistake in the calculations.  

    Interesting article: http://www.vancouversu...

  17. Photo of Kat S.
    8/30/2010 Kat "with club sauce" S. says:

    Oops, sorry Lee, I see you did have trawler and troller correct.

  18. Photo of Lee N.
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    8/30/2010 Lee "NWdiver" N. says:

    Trollers troll (I never said trawlers), longlines put out lines with many hooks (halibut) or cages (prawns) on them.

  19. Photo of Lee N.
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    8/30/2010 Lee "NWdiver" N. says:

    @ Steven, yes they can over crowd the spawning beds, it has not been done for a long time, but they fence off downstream of the beds to keep the redds (fish nests) from not being disturbed and spawned over by the extra fish, they die and add to the nutrient load of the river.

  20. Photo of Merton P.
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    8/30/2010 Merton "nedhlp" P. says:

    would I be able to buy salmon on friday for less then $2.00 apound they are saying on the news prices under $1.00 per lb
    thanks nedhlp

  21. Photo of Lee N.
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    8/31/2010 Lee "NWdiver" N. says:

    $0.80lb is what the commercial packers are paying and they have taken up most of the freezer capacity in the lower mainland and are now trucking it out of town. If the openings this week produce allot of fish $12 for a 6 pound fish is not out of the question.

  22. Photo of Merton P.
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    8/31/2010 Merton "nedhlp" P. says:

    thanks i was going to vancouver friday may go by and see
    thanks nedhlp

  23. Photo of Connor G.
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    8/31/2010 Connor G. says:

    I went to Steveston  today after hearing they were open for 24hrs on Mon.  Picked up 8 whole  fish at $10 a piece.  6-8lbs each.

  24. Photo of Emily S.
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    8/31/2010 Emily S. says:

    I believe it was $6.99/pound over at the Wheelhouse on Hastings yesterday for sockeye.

  25. Photo of Sarah M.
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    9/1/2010 Sarah "The Diplomat" M. says:

    I was thinking to head to steveston tomorrow, what time is best to go usually?  I got a sockeye from granville island market and paid $5 a pound a few days ago, so i'm not sure if its even worth it to go all the way to steveston if they are almost the same price anyways!

  26. Photo of Sarah M.
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    9/1/2010 Sarah "The Diplomat" M. says:

    It was $6.99 a pound for sockeye today at Granville Island's Salmon Shop, they filet and clean it for you

  27. Photo of David L.
    9/1/2010 David L. says:

    It's important to look for quality, and not just price.  It's never smart to buy salmon if body colour is dark greyish to blackish to reddish. I am sure some of you will encounter some people with dark greyish coloured sockeyes, especially near the Fraser Valley. I've seen some sports fisherman who caught sockeyes near Chilliwack with that colour. Always buy shiny silver coloured salmon.  Shiny silver coloured salmon means they're fresh from the ocean or they're caught near the mouth of the river.   I think it's really silly to buy  sockeye salmon from Granville Island right now unless you're full of cash in your bank.  Granville Island has always been the most expensive place to buy salmon in B.C.

  28. Photo of Sarah M.
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    9/2/2010 Sarah "The Diplomat" M. says:

    @David I was at Save on Foods yesterday and they were charging like $12 a pound I couldn't believe it! They told me the price is going to go down though.... $6.99 a pound at Granville Island is good considering the fish is cleaned and cut for you and packed with ice for travelling (I was riding my bicycle).  I don't see the point in going all the way to Steveston when the news says its $5 a pound anyways and thats a whole fish you have to gut yourself + the fact that you have to drive out there.

  29. Photo of Grayce E.
    9/3/2010 Grayce E. says:

    I was at Superstore today and they were $3.99/ pound. I bought a fish off the dock in steveston yesterday evening and it was $20, cleaned.

  30. Photo of Merton P.
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    9/4/2010 Merton "nedhlp" P. says:

    i was a steveston yesterday and bought 4 sockeye and paid $15 per fish cleaned and was about 20lb
    they looked like a nice silver
    i could have bought cheaper ther but the price was lower for uncleaned i could not take them that long uncleaned
    i put on ice and I live in lumby bc
    thanks nedhlp

  31. Photo of Larry L.
    9/5/2010 from Yelp for iPhone Larry "Mojofoodie" L. says:

    I worked as a Gill netter back in the 80's.  Fishing wasn't so good then, it's been alot worse lately and now. Alot of Sockeye, but people haven't said as much about the Humpies or the Dog salmon.  This is the year for Sockeye.
    Despite politics and so on. There is lots of fish to go around but we still have to conserve.  Fishing is a very hard job, period.  Definitely not like it was back in 1930'-1950's.  Fishing has been in our family way back then.  I still live in Steveston!

    OK another tip on good fish is the tail.  Some fish depending on the way it's graded will be mishandled.  Fish going to canneries for example. Fishermen get less money, but sometimes this fish also goes to the higher grade buyers.  Fish caught on a line will look the best, is usually iced right away unless there are buyers taking the fish right away.  Otherwise they have to be iced.
    Some fish you may notice line markings made from a gill net.  Some fish may be carried by the tail and the meat is pulled and stretched so the texture in the tail can be mushy.  Feel the texture of the fish before you buy.  Also look at the shininess and the smell and colour.  
    Sockeye is easy to distinguish from other varieties but sometimes people mix them up with Pink(Humpies) and so on.  Each salmon has a different colour, shape, markings that make it unique.
    Some older Sockeye will have a more pronounced snout than younger ones.
    Different colouration and so on.  Older Salmon has a different taste if you like to catch it and eat it raw right away.  (best way to eat salmon is right away, right off the bone).
    For salmon cakes, day old humpies are best.
    My face salmon is the Steelhead( trout)
    Usually caught up north.  The texture and taste and the way the meat flakes is best for me.

  32. Photo of Larry L.
    9/5/2010 from Yelp for iPhone Larry "Mojofoodie" L. says:

    Just reread my post.  There is NOT alot of fish to go around, and we still need to conserve.  We need to do more for the oceans an environment issues for the ocean still need to be worked on.  China is one huge factor in this globalized consumption of our fish.  As a country, China is that sleeping giant that is waking up hungry for food, western lifestyle, economy and reworking it's culture.  I just hope that the fisheries isn't undervaluing the export of our salmon overseas.  The industry needs money from this to preserve more for the future and I think the ministry needs to do way more to maintain the stocks of salmon and also to neutralize the threat of overfishing and hold a better balance with the native fisheries/commercial fisheries and sports fishing.

  33. Photo of Peter S.
    9/6/2010 Peter "I don't do walls" S. says:

    Went to Steveston this morning. $5 a pound for frozen. Same for fresh with guts.

  34. Photo of Roanna Z.
    9/6/2010 Roanna "@Beandar Zee" Z. says:

    Has anyone else seen the fish literally jumping out of the Fraser? We brought our visitor to Steveston last Monday and stopped at the Dog walk park first, along #3 road.( http://tinyurl.com/28z... )
    Splashes in the water caught our eye, and we could clearly see the fish, which we assumed were Sockeye, jumping over the surface of the water. Hundreds of them. It was so cool, we just watched in amazement for about a half an hour.
    Also we saw a seal out there, enjoying the feast.

  35. Photo of David L.
    9/6/2010 David L. says:

    Hundreds of jumping sockeyes on the Fraser? I haven't heard about that for a very long time. It was in the 90's when the last time I heard about people talking about it.

  36. Photo of Kat S.
    9/7/2010 Kat "with club sauce" S. says:

    My boss figures the salmon that are jumping in the Fraser are the Chinook (aka spring salmon).  

    I tried a bit of fishing up in Agassiz on Saturday, but I was there too late and didn't have great gear, so no luck for me.  However there were quite a few fish jumping and we saw one guy pull out a beautiful Chinook and many people with sockeye.

  37. Photo of Peter S.
    9/10/2010 Peter "I don't do walls" S. says:

    Everyone salmoned out?

    I am still jonzin for some proper steaks.
    Anyone got any leads on fresh sockeye? Has the frenzy passed?

  38. Photo of Liz B.
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    9/10/2010 Liz B. says:

    We're still on the look out, but saw this on-line with details of fish at False Creek.

    http://www.vancouversu...

  39. Photo of Marc D.
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    9/10/2010 Marc "Hole in the Wall" D. says:

    Got some nice salmon steaks (with a lot of good fat) at of all places Choices today.  Some of the tastiest salmon we've had this season.

  40. Photo of Liz B.
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    9/11/2010 Liz B. says:

    Other half has just called from T & T supermarket in Chinatown and they are selling fresh sockeye @ 3.99 per lb. Apparently skin is nice and silver too.

  41. Photo of David L.
    9/11/2010 David L. says:

    Anyone who is new to salmon fishing should try Stave River in Mission.  There aren't any sockeyes that return to the Stave River, but fishing for chum salmon is extremely easy during October and November. There are also cohos, pinks, coastal cutthroat trout, and winter steelhead.  I haven't met a person  who never caught a chum salmon at the Stave River between October and November.  Chum salmon will attack almost any bait you throw into the water. It's more of a catch and release fishing because chum salmon aren't very tasty. I see a lot of kids between 5-10 years old landing 20 to 30lb salmon without any problems by themselves on shore. It's a great way to get some exercise for your arms with some fresh air.   However, never go to the Stave on the weekends because it gets extremely busy with tons of fisherman with almost no standing room.  I've witness fights between fisherman - punching, shoving with the end result of getting thrown into the river.

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