local- from alaska?
- Kim Wagner
- Feb 21, 2018
- 3 min read
While wild caught salmon from the Kenai Peninsula may not be the same type of local as most of our goods, we thought everyone should get the chance to try Jon's excellent fish- fresher than most you can get on the east coast and directly from the fisherman!
"Alaska is home. But so is Delaware." says Jon Clucas, a third generation Alaskan fisherman and owner of Alaskawild Seafoods. He and his family spend winters on the eastern shore, and summers fishing in the land of the midnight sun. His grandparents were true pioneers- beginning to fish and homestead in 1948 in a wild Alaskan area with no roads or shops.
Jon's grandparents originally used fish traps, but later taught Jon's father to use gill nets, which are selective in the fish they trap, and therefore more sustainable. Jon's first memories of fishing are being tasked with emptying nets in the tidal flow (the second most extreme in the world, with over a 40 ft change in water level) at the age of four. The nets were too heavy for him to lift after the water had receded, leaving the salmon behind. He remembers using a rock to break the net into smaller chunks to retrieve the fish. "I wasn't supposed to do that. My Dad didn't know about it, but he's here, so I guess he does." Jon said with a chuckle during our phone conversation.
As soon as he could stand up and lift a pail of water he was fishing with his father in a wooden dory (which had a habit of leaking). He was running his own boat by the age of 14 and bought his first boat at 17 (the same one he uses today!).
"I love what I do. I get to be in an amazing place in the world and see the beauty of Alaska and the complex life of the salmon." says Jon. He marvels at the life cycle of the salmon- growing up in a remote stream, migrating to the ocean, spending about 5 years swimming tens of thousands of miles away, and then miraculously returning to the same stream to spawn, often within 50 feet of their origin.
Jon takes pride in his work. He says he's hard on his helpers, often telling them: "that might be your grandmother's dinner, so treat it nicely." He inspects each individual fish, knowing it will be on someone's dinner plate soon. His fish are handled individually, sorted carefully to avoid bruising, bled as fast as possible, and flash frozen within 24 hours of harvest to maintain freshness. "I do all I can to make it the best product possible and get satisfaction [out of that] because I love what I do and I love the result and want people to have a great experience with their dinner" the otherwise reserved Jon effused.
Jon explained, "A lot of people know [salmon is] amazing and healthy but when you look at it, we have a lot of salmon that's farm raised that’s detrimental to environment and to the fish and fisheries and not as healthy. I just want people to have good healthy food." Jon's wild caught salmon is always anitibiotic, hormone, pesticide, fungicide, artificial coloring, and preservative free. Furthermore, Alaska's fisheries are managed and protected against habitat damage and overfishing. These fisheries are carefully regulated state waters and are monitored by biologists to make sure each river and stream maintains a healthy wild fish population returning to spawn each year. Jon and his family are especially careful of the ecosystem in which they work as it is a point of pride to uphold their family history of responsible fishery management.
It's been on the menu for the past couple weeks, but expect Alaskawild Seafoods' salmon to be a frequent visitor to our local offerings! We hope you enjoy his product as much as we do, and as much as Jon enjoys his vocation!
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