This Memorable Dish Might Make Diners Think Differently About Salmon
Duke Moscrip, founder of Duke's Seafood in Seattle, is on a mission to help save wild salmon.
Eat it to save it
Southern food historian Poppy Tooker has for decades been repeating a phrase her grandmother taught her: Eat it to save it. That catchy mantra could easily apply to wild salmon, which has seen its numbers steadily decline along the West Coast. Consumers and chefs have taken the bait, simply switching to farm-raised fish even after it's been proven to be unhealthy to eat and harmful to the environment.
Duke Moscrip has spent much of his career building a series of popular restaurants in and around Seattle, an ongoing endeavor that led him to the icy waters of Alaska. He spent many summers on board fishing vessels, observing how the fish were handled after they were caught. Those lessons led him to adopt a practice of serving only wild Alaskan salmon that had been frozen shortly after being caught at his restaurants.
It also opened his eyes to the dwindling fish runs along the West Coast, which led to his latest project. He established Duke's Damsel on a Train Foundation with Damsel Cellar's co-owner Heather Anderson to draw attention to the fish's fate. The organization hosts fundraisers to benefit various efforts to address the pressing issue.
There's reams of documents bolstering the cause, but the importance of protecting this species might be best discussed over a serving of one of Duke's signature salmon preparations.
Moscrip shared his recipe for Colonel Mustard's Wild Salmon:
Ingredients
6 ounces coho salmon
1 ounce olive oil
Pinch of sea salt
1 ounce Dijon mustard
2 ounces white wine
4 ounces heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh herb blend
Prep Notes:
Season and pan sear salmon. Flip salmon, when ¾ done, deglaze pan with white wine and add herbs, Dijon and Cream and incorporate and reduce. Sauce should thicken, but still be abundant enough to nearly cover plate. Serve with Jasmine rice and steamed veggies. Place salmon in middle on top of veggies and rice to give it height.
Serve it with the 2024 Damsel Cellars Dineen Vineyard Sémillon. Duke's restaurants features special releases from Damsel, a portion of the proceeds from each glass pour donated the Foundation.
Listen to Moscrip and Heather Anderson discuss the restoration efforts their foundation is tackling on a recent episode of Hot Stove Radio with chefs Tom Douglas and Bridget Charters.
For additional information on the importance of addressing this issue, check out the restoration efforts spearheaded by Save Our Wild Salmon.
And for an excellent source of frozen wild salmon, take a deep dive into the shipable offerings from Wild Alaskan Company.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Conservation efforts spark revival of rare flower on the Island
A rare plant is making a strong comeback thanks to focused conservation efforts. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is celebrating the return of field cow-wheat (Melampyrum arvense) at St Lawrence Field Nature Reserve on the Isle of Wight. The plant, once widespread in southern England, has declined sharply due to habitat loss and changes in farming practices. Now found at just four UK sites, St Lawrence Field is the only location where the species is believed to have survived without reintroduction. Field cow-wheat (Image: Dominic Price) Emma Hunt, senior reserves officer for Wilder Wight and Solent at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said: "The display of flowers this year was absolutely incredible. "It's so great to see the field cow-wheat in such abundance here. "Field cow-wheat thriving at this scale is hugely encouraging. "This tiny but mighty reserve is proving how even the smallest spaces can have big impacts for biodiversity when managed sensitively." READ MORE: Wildlife trust backs campaign to ban bottom trawling near the Island The population survey, carried out by the trust in partnership with the Species Recovery Trust, highlights the success of targeted habitat management. This has included rotational cutting and careful scrub control to maintain the open, species-rich grassland the plant needs. Dominic Price, director of the Species Recovery Trust, said: "Field cow-wheat is not only a spectacular plant but is also now one of our rarest wild blooms, with this site now considered to be the only surviving native site. "So, to see it growing this well, especially in a year where many sites have been stricken by drought and high temperatures, is just amazing." St Lawrence Field Nature Reserve was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1993 to protect its population of the plant. Verity Foster, reserve officer (Isle of Wight), said: "This species is clinging on at just a handful of sites in the UK, and to witness such a strong recovery here fills me with hope." The trust encourages the public to support conservation efforts and explore nearby nature reserves.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Flirting with disaster: When endangered wild animals try to mate with domestic relatives, both wildlife and people lose
Fatal attractions are a standard movie plotline, but they also occur in nature, with much more serious consequences. As a conservation biologist, I've seen them play out in some of Earth's most remote locations, from the Gobi Desert to the Himalayan Highlands. In these locales, pastoralist communities graze camels, yaks and other livestock across wide ranges of land. The problem is that often these animals' wild relatives live nearby, and huge, testosterone-driven wild males may try to mate with domestic or tamed relatives. Both animals and people lose in these encounters. Herders who try to protect their domestic stock risk injuries, emotional trauma, economic loss and sometimes death. Wild intruders can be displaced, harassed or killed. These clashes threaten iconic and endangered species, including Tibetan wild yaks, wild two-humped camels and Asia's forest elephants. If the wild species are protected, herders may be forbidden from chasing or harming them, even in self-defense. Human-wildlife conflict is a widely recognized challenge around the world, but clashes in these remote outposts receive less attention than those in developed areas, such as pumas ranging into U.S. exurbs. As I see it, protecting threatened and endangered species won't be possible without also helping herders whose lives are affected by conservation policies. The drive to mate The force driving these raids is pure biology. All domestic animals are descended from wild ancestors. Steeped in evolution, natural selection has favored males who inseminate the most females – and females who leave reproductive offspring of their own. Attractions can go both ways: Sometimes smaller or less aggressive domestic males may mate with wild females. Many herding societies contend with this challenge. In the Hindu Kush mountain system of Central Asia and farther east, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Changpa and Nepalis raise domestic yaks, which provide meat, milk, transportation and shaggy hides for clothing. Wild yaks were once thought extinct in Nepal, until a team led by wildlife biologist Naresh Kusi rediscovered them in 2014. Now aggressive contests between domestic and wild yaks are headaches for local herders. In Africa, Namib Desert mountain zebras, a vulnerable species, have been bred by donkeys. In northern China and Mongolia, domestic and reintroduced Przewalski horses coexist in tense zones where herders work to prevent genetic exchanges. In Southeast Asia, wild cattle species, such as gaur and banteng, have mixed extensively with domestic cattle and buffaloes. In northern realms, caribou and reindeer, which are the same species, Rangifer taranadus, both occur in wild forms. Reindeer have also been domesticated and are central to Indigenous herding cultures in Scandinavia, Russia, Canada and Alaska. Caribou slaughters and separation efforts have not prevented mixing. In temperate zones of Europe and Asia, native species such as ibex, or wild goats, and argali, the world's largest wild sheep, cause trouble by mingling with domesticated goats and sheep. In South America, guanacos – relatives of wild camels – range from sea level to the snow line in the Andes and attempt to interbreed with domestic llamas. The wild and the tame Across Earth, humans raise about 5 billion head of livestock. In most places, wild ancestors are long gone, so herders don't have to contend with interbreeding. The wild relatives that survive typically are rare or endangered. For example, there are about 43 million domestic donkeys, also known as asses, worldwide. But in the Horn of Africa, the sole remaining spot with native ancestors, fewer than 600 wild asses survive today. The same asymmetry exists in the Himalayan Highlands, where wild yaks – a critically important species for Tibetan people – are estimated to number perhaps 15,000 to 20,000, compared with 14 million domestic yaks. Globally, for each wild Bactrian camel, there are about 2,500 domesticated brethren. Even in protected areas of northern India, western Mongolia and western China, the abundance of domestic livestock outnumbers that of hoofed wildlife by a factor of about 19 to 1. As wild populations shrink, the remaining males have smaller mating pools, which makes them more likely to pursue domestic females. But hybridizing with domestic animals could lead to some wild animals' extinction as genetically distinct species. No easy resolution For pastoralists, earning a living along Earth's rarified edges is hard enough without wild animals raiding their herds. Frequently, the only legal weapons herders can use to defend their livestock or themselves are sticks and stones. Guns are rare and often illegal, either because the wild species is protected or because the nation bans or restricts gun ownership. Global conservation policy recognizes herders' plight. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, a network of governments and nongovernmental organizations that work to conserve life on Earth, affirms that Indigenous peoples play key roles in protecting threatened species and maintaining these wild animals' genetic purity. Many relevant national governments also support both protecting wild species and aiding nomadic herders, at least in principle. These broad goals aren't always upheld at the local level, however, especially when the people in question are pastoralists living in remote areas where it's hard to access government help. Coexistence in a crowded world When pastoralists need to protect their herds from other threats, such as snow leopards, brown bears or wolves, their main options are putting up fences, avoiding areas where carnivores are known to be present or killing the predators. Herders also castrate their domestic animals to keep them from fighting with other animals in the herd or attacking humans. None of these options work well for dealing with wild progenitors of species such as yaks and camels. Castrating wild males or reducing their geographic ranges makes it harder to protect and increase threatened species. Fencing is harmful because it can keep wild grazers from moving seasonally to different habitats. Wildlife migrations aren't just important for the herd: As the animals roam and graze across broad areas, they fertilize grasslands. Arming pastoralists against wayward and aggressive wild males may seem justified, but destroying endangered species is a poor conservation path. Respect for Indigenous peoples' traditional cultural practices is important. So are international agreements to protect biodiversity. In my view, these human-wildlife clashes demand serious discussions that bring together herders, conservationists and local and national governments to develop pragmatic strategies. Without creative solutions to prevent intermingling, more iconic animals will follow the disappointing paths of wild reindeer, bison and other wild species struggling to thrive as they increasingly collide with human societies. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Joel Berger, Colorado State University Read more: Human activities in Asia have reduced elephant habitat by nearly two-thirds since 1700, dividing what remains into ever-smaller patches Digitized records from wildlife centers show the most common ways that humans harm wild animals When endangered species recover, humans may need to make room for them – and it's not always easy Joel Berger receives funding from Colorado State University and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Endangered crayfish returning to county waterways
A rare species of endangered crayfish is slowly returning to its natural habitats, environmental experts have said. The white-clawed crayfish is the UK's only native species, but it has been under threat for a number of years, particularly following the arrival of the North American signal crayfish in the 1970s. The North American crayfish competes with other native species for food and habitats, and also carries a deadly fungal disease called the crayfish plague, which has been rapidly killing the white-clawed species. But the white-clawed crayfish is now returning to areas of Nottinghamshire following work from environmental groups. The Environment Agency said it has been working with Natural England to secure the white-clawed crayfish's future across the country. In Nottinghamshire, a partnership to protect the species has been formed among various groups. This has included the Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group, White Post Farm, and other environmental groups from further afield. Staff and volunteers are creating new safe havens, known as "ark sites", for the crayfish to relocate to, and moving numbers of them that are under threat to these protected sites. Erin McDaid, from the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, said losing the native species would be "heart-breaking". He added: "Our waterways wouldn't be the same if they went extinct as they keep the ecosystems in our rivers healthy. If a native species like that goes, the environment around it is impacted pretty badly. "We really want to prevent that, and volunteers play a vital role in helping to stop that from happening." Danielle Grieves, an officer at Natural England, said the work she has observed from volunteers in Bulwell gives her hope for the future of the species. She added: "We are seeing fewer numbers of the North American invasive species in ponds at Bulwell Hall. "It's been so rewarding to see vulnerable, native crayfish being moved to their new homes in Nottinghamshire. "By protecting the white-clawed crayfish, we're helping to preserve the biodiversity and ecological health of Nottinghamshire's waterways for future generations." Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. More on this story Brook given special status to save rare crayfish Rare white-clawed crayfish saved from drying beck 'Britain's oldest ever' barn owl found at farm
