A collaborative summer marketing campaign to educate the public all about wild Alaska salmon from Prince William Sound and Bristol Bay is underway on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, with five installments in total planned over the summer season.
“The program has been very well received,” said Lilani Dunn, executive director of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA). “This is the first season doing it. I anticipate it growing (in future years),” she said. “The two marketing associations coming together is an efficient and effective way for consumers to learn about the benefits of the salmon from both of those regions.”
“We’re pleased with the consumer education collaboration with Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association,” said Christa Hoover, executive director of the Copper River & Prince William Sound Marketing Association (CR/PWSMA), in email comments on this guide to commercial fishing in the Copper River and Bristol Bay.
“CR/PWSMA and BBRSDA are powerhouses when it comes to regional branding and working together to help consumers learn high-level details about our regional fisheries and about wild Alaska salmon,” Hoover said.
Launching the social media marketing campaign just ahead of the fresh salmon season also lets people know that salmon is available year-round in all product forms, Dunn said.
The first online installment of the series posted on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok was “What is Wild Salmon?” followed by “How are wild Alaska salmon caught?” she said.
“All elements of the campaign are directed at consumers that are very comfortable purchasing and preparing land-based proteins and need support learning and expanding their understanding and comfort with seafood,” Hoover said. “We want them to learn about our regionally identified salmon from Copper River/Prince William Sound and from Bristol Bay and develop a preference for wild Alaska salmon.”
The photo guide talks about the boats and the gear, how the salmon are picked from the gillnets and chilled in seawater. Video shows the crew of a drift gillnetter at work setting the net, hauling it in and with fresh from the water fish in hand. More photos explain life on board a gillnet fishing boat, how the salmon are kept chilled, and how they are delivered to fish processors.
The journey of the wild salmon from the sea to the dinner table is multiple steps: Catching fish in gillnets, picking and storing them in the holds below deck, transferring them to the tenders and processing facilities where they are filleted, deboned, flash frozen and vacuum packed within hours of the catch, and transporting them from Alaska to consumers for distribution.
Find recipes for wild Alaska salmon online at https://bristolbaysockeye.org/salmon-cooking-guide/ and https://bristolbaysockeye.org/salmon-cooking-guide/. Log on to the Facebook, Instagram and TikTok pages for the two marketing association to learn more.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Lilani Dunn’s name and misattributed a quote to her.
