How to Buy the Best Salmon, According to Experts

I was grocery shopping near my home in Boise, Idaho, when I found myself paralyzed by uncertainty over what type of salmon to buy. I’m a lifelong angler and had always heard wild salmon was the best choice, but news of declining runs had me worried. Between that and the bad rap that farmed salmon had, I wondered whether I should be eating salmon at all. 

So, I started asking questions, and talking to experts, from chefs to aquaculture specialists, and from fishermen to fishmongers. Here’s what they told me.

What you need to know before you buy salmon

When it comes to environmental impact and carbon footprint, wild Alaskan sockeye is, fins down, the best choice. During salmon season, you can often find wild coho and king at many fish counters. Alaskan pink and chum — always wild — are less common types of salmon in the Lower 48. 

But just because salmon is wild doesn’t always mean that it’s the best choice, especially if you’re concerned about sustainable runs. While sockeye are booming in Alaska right now, other wild runs are struggling. Sockeye, coho, and king are endangered in many parts of the world. In Idaho, king are nearing extinction, and sockeye are on life support. 

Even in Alaska, some stocks are doing better than others. In 2022, the year sockeye set a record high in Bristol Bay, king and keta runs there hit record lows (down 81% and 92%, respectively, from the 30-year mean), and both are struggling in the Yukon River, threatening subsistence fishing by native tribes. Bristol Bay is one of the best-managed fisheries in the world, but the future abundance of sockeye is far from guaranteed. If sustainability is a priority for you, take these steps when shopping for salmon. Expect recommendations to change as conditions change. Adapt accordingly.

To stay on top of the latest recommendations, check the website or download the app for Seafood Watch, the Monterey Bay Aquarium program that offers science-based recommendations about sustainable seafood, to research options on the go. Look for a rating of green or yellow.

How to read salmon labels (and what to look for)

“My advice for friends? Just buy American seafood,” says Dr. Ray Hilborn, a professor of aquatic and fishery sciences at the University of Washington. “Or get something that’s MSC-certified.” 

The  Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a global nonprofit working to end overfishing and promote sustainable fisheries through certification programs and clear consumer-product labels. The MSC logo means a fish (or fish-based product) is wild, sourced from a well-managed fish population, caught with sustainable fishing practices, and verified throughout the supply chain. The bulk of U.S. wild-caught seafood is MSC-certified.

Farmed salmon can also be a good choice, Barton Seaver, a chef and sustainable seafood expert from Maine, told me. Once strenuously opposed to farmed fish, he opened his mind to sustainable aquaculture when he saw how it could benefit public health by making fish — with its nutritional and environmental benefits — more affordable. 

For farmed salmon, look for the logos from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) or Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP). These organizations set rigorous guidelines for third-party auditors who scrutinize the environmental and social impacts of farming practices. Around one-third of farmed salmon is ASC-certified.

The one grocery store that gets it right

Industry experts all agree that the easiest way to find sustainable salmon is to look for third-party certification logos. They should be easy to find, but they aren’t always.

At three of the five grocery stores in Boise, Idaho, where I live, I spot third-party certification logos on a few canned goods but none at the seafood counters or in the frozen- or smoked-fish aisles. I can’t find a single logo at Trader Joe’s, not even on wild-caught sockeye fillets or cans of wild Alaskan salmon. None of the employees I talk to have even heard of them. One gives me a customer-service number to call, but the friendly representative only points me to a webpage with a vague promise that the company sources sustainably. She says they don’t use third-party certifications because they have an associated cost (true) and they want to keep prices low.

At Whole Foods Market, third-party certification labels are everywhere — even the supplements aisle. The fishmongers give accurate answers, rattling off a dissertation. When I point to a fresh Atlantic fillet and ask where it came from, they can tell me: Blue Circle Foods. I look it up. It’s an employee-owned company that adheres to MSC, ASC, and Seafood Watch standards. 

The biggest surprise happens in Walmart. Every single fresh and frozen seafood product bears a third-party certification. A spokesperson tells me that the company-wide goal is to source 100% of its fresh and frozen seafood from fisheries or farms that are third-party certified or making measurable progress toward fishery-wide improvements. In 2023, 96% of Walmart’s U.S. seafood met this goal. 

If you can’t find third-party logos, research your grocery store’s seafood policy by searching the website or asking in person. Some stores, such as Albertsons, develop their own policies and labels.

Frozen vs. fresh: what really matters

Fresh wild salmon (never frozen) is a treat available during salmon season — roughly May through September. But depending on where you live, “fresh” fish can be out of the water for four or five days before they land at your seafood counter. Most frozen salmon is vacuum-sealed and frozen within 24 to 48 hours of being caught. Flash-freezing preserves the cellular walls, which prevents mushy flesh. In a side-by-side test of fresh and frozen wild sockeye, the thawed fish appeared duller, paler, and less firm; however, when cooked, the difference in texture and taste was negligible. All the chefs consulted for this story agreed: Properly frozen fish is better than four-day-old “fresh” fish. 

Farmed fish is sold fresh in grocery stores all year round. If the fish is packaged, look for the date it was harvested. If you like your salmon rare or plan to make sushi, fish should be frozen for at least seven days to kill any parasites that might be present.

The most reliable way to know where your salmon comes from

The best way to know where your salmon is coming from is to buy directly from fishermen, so consider signing up for a community-supported fishery. Iliamna Fish Co. is an excellent CSF that sources salmon from Bristol Bay, Alaska. Citizen Salmon is a one-man operation that sources from Alaska and ships to the Lower 48. To find a local CSF near you, visit Local Catch Network, which lists small-scale seafood harvesters nationwide.