Alaska Air Cargo helps open salmon season

Alaska Air Cargo delivered the season’s first shipment of Copper River salmon to Seattle-Tacoma (WA) International Airport recently, marking the start of the summer salmon season. The Alaska Airlines plane arrived early May 17 with Copper River king and sockeye salmon from three seafood processors: Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, and Copper River Seafoods.

In 2010, Alaska Airlines flew more than 22 million pounds of fresh Alaska seafood to the lower 48 states and beyond, including nearly 700,000 pounds of Copper River salmon.

Copper River salmon shipped on Alaska Air Cargo this season will arrive fresh to grocery stores and restaurants, thanks in part to a training program required of all employees who handle perishables. Alaska Air Cargo employees are required to adhere to strict seafood quality standards and pass an annual food quality course. Seafood processors and shippers follow these cool-chain standards to provide a temperature-controlled environment for proper food handling.

Now that the first fish has arrived, top Seattle chefs will compete for the best salmon recipe in Alaska Air Cargo’s “Copper Chef Cook-off.” Executive chef and 2010’s Copper Chef winner Pat Donahue, of Anthony’s Restaurants, will compete against executive chefs from Elliott’s Oyster House and SkyCity at the Space Needle. The chefs will have 30 minutes to prepare and serve the first catch of the season to a panel of judges, including Jay Buhner, Seattle Mariners Hall of Famer; Mike Fourtner, deckhand on the F/V Time Bandit, as featured on Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch;” and Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines’ vice-president of marketing.

Together with sister carrier Horizon Air, Alaska Airlines transports more than 120 million pounds of cargo annually. Visit www.alaskaair.com or www.alaskacargo.com for more information.