Greetings from the Sitka Sound
Welcome to December in Sitka! Remember the chill in the air and the snow on Mt. Edgecumbe from November? Well, that chill is now in our bones and the snow is on the ground. It doesn't seem to be going anywhere and it happily replenishes itself between our intermittent rain showers. The bears have started to go to sleep, so it's safer to hike our trails. However, the sun rises around 8:30am and it gets dark by 3pm.
December also means that the 2021 Commercial Longline season comes to a close and Winter King Salmon season is in full swing. If you haven't heard already, the State of Alaska has suspended the King Crab fishery in the Bearing Sea for 2021. So now, any Alaskan King Crab on the market is either last year's catch or mislabeled Russian King Crab. We had big plans for that crab, but if we've learned anything about ourselves it's that we can pivot.
Being resourceful of spirit and community minded by nature, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We are custom building a commercial crab cooker and obtaining the proper licenses and permits to provide you with Catch Sitka crab in 2022. The crab season starts in June. The species available to sustainably fish in Southeast Alaska will be Wild Alaskan Tanner and Dungeness crab. We will keep our fingers and toes crossed for King Crab in 2022 as well!
For now, we recommend cozying up with some Wild Alaskan Whitefish, we've got some delicious recipe options that will help warm up your insides no matter what's happening outside!
Best Fishes,
The Samman Family
Fish Talk: A Tale of Two Cods
Three fish - a lingcod , a pacific cod and a black cod - walk into a bar. The bartender looks at them and says, “We don’t serve cod in this here bar.” Two of the fish look at each other, shrug and order their drinks anyway. The third one has to leave. Do you know which fish has to go get his drink from the pond?
If you have a topic you would like us to explore, please submit it to lifeboat@catchsitkaseafoods.com
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Holiday Special All Month Long
Thank you for being a part of the Catch Sitka Family. We appreciate your support and value our place at your table. If you skipped the craziness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we still have a deal for you, get $15 off of your $125 purchase with the code: HOLIDAYCHEER
We've also added a new item to our Teaser Collection, our Wild Alaskan Gift Box Bonus Items! Add one to turn any of our boxes into a gift box! Perfect for any occasion and anyone on your gift list - yourself included!
Don't forget, our incredible Wild Alaskan Gift Boxes take the guesswork out of shopping for friends and loved ones. They include all the Gift Box Bonus Items and a mix of our delicious Wild Alaskan Coho Salmon, Halibut, and Applewood Smoked Fish, giving your recipient a taste of the best of everything we have to offer.
From the Kitchen
Our family favorite recipe right now is our Asian Ginger Lingcod on Stir Fried Bok Choy. We think it will wow any palate at the table. It's not just the Samman family that's hooked either! Take it from our Catch Sitka Family member @jhhowe, who commented about this recipe on Instagram, "In our weekly rotation! Probably the best new recipe I've made this year!" Watch us make it here.
A little known culinary fact about Lingcod is that it can do everything Halibut can, only at a hotter temperature, for longer. Lingcod's flesh is oilier than Halibut and just as flaky, mild and delicious. We love it for frying, beer battering for fish tacos, and just about everything in between. Plus, it's extra oil content keeps leftovers from drying out when reheated the next day!
Check out all our awesome recipes in our Recipe Box and expert tips in our Cooking Guide.
