Thanks to Palmer restaurant, Turkey Red, and its expert chefs who prepared hundreds of tasty Bristol Bay salmon morsels yesterday at the Alaska State Fair. Scores of fairgoers gobbled them up as they learned about the serious environmental threats to the salmon from the proposed Pebble mine and what they can do to help protect the bay.

Trout Unlimited Alaska staff, joined by many volunteers, including Bristol Bay commercial fisherman, Loren Kroon, handed out samples of grilled sockeye with fennel, spinach salad and olive tapenade, a creation by Chef Jerry Duran of Turkey Red. The sockeye came from the Nushagak, Alaska’s largest producer of king salmon and a river system that flows just downstream from the Pebble deposit.

“It’s important to be involved. I have a stake in what happens in Bristol Bay. I’ve been fishing there for 28 years now,” said Kroon. “It’s also fun to connect people with the fish and watch their responses once they taste it.”

Kroon, who enthusiastically handed out informational material about Bristol Bay, said it was cool to see how people wanted to learn more and get involved in stopping the Pebble project from going forward. And he was surprised how many people picked up Trout Unlimited’s salmon recipe cards.

“It fun to see them connect with the recipes. I really liked that,” he said.

Chef Duran said he’s a strong advocate for healthy, local food and that’s why it’s a no-brainer for him to do what he can to speak out for Bristol Bay salmon.

“I’m all about protecting our wild salmon and I was happy to help Trout Unlimited with this event,” Duran said.

Next to the salmon table, Trout Unlimited sponsored a kids “fish art” event. Katherine Carscallen, a third-generation Bristol Bay commercial fisherman from Dillingham, caught several silvers and a pick salmon the day before and brought them with her to Anchorage so that kids could paint them and plaster plain white T-Shirts across the fish. The result? Lots of happy kids and many funky, beautiful shirts!

Thanks to everyone who made this a very successful event at the fair! 

(Photo of shows, left to right, Loren Kroon, Melanie Brown and Jerry Duran)