Despite everything we hear about the dangers of overfishing, we always assumed the situation was dire in only a few cases — Chilean sea bass, bluefin tuna, and the giant squid (release the kraken!). But now wild salmon is severely threatened, as a report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer makes clear. “Federal officials are meeting near Seattle this week to slash or even halt salmon fishing off California and Oregon,” and Washington may be next. No one is sure of the exact cause of the depletion, but until it corrects itself, expect a huge price hike: Wild salmon costs $30 a pound in Seattle, and may rise. The Alaskan catch is going down, too, so expect to start seeing inferior farmed salmon on our New York tables or salmon served in domino-size portions. The days of chowing down merrily on Copper River wild king salmon are over, for now.
Wild salmon at $40 a pound? [Seattle Post-Intelligencer, via Chow]
