102 NATGEOTRAVEL.COM
PATROLLING
THE FRONT
OF HIS SHOP
IN BRIGHT
ORANGE
DECK PANTS,
the fishmonger drums up a little impromptu drama for tourists
fingering their wallets. “What’s the matter?” he asks the crowd,
putting his hands on his hips. “Never been properly introduced
to the king before?” He extends an open hand.
At Seattle’s Pike Place Market, where a ragtag collection of
produce, meat, and seafood stalls overlooks the city’s downtown
waterfront, crowds gather around comforting displays of food.
Stacked like treasure on cushions of ice, several king salmon stare
blankly back, their thick sides burnished with a silver sheen. As
one of the top three favorite seafoods globally (along with tuna
and shrimp), salmon isn’t a tough sell. A couple on vacation from
Kalamazoo, Michigan, giggles and points to a 10-pounder. The
fishmonger closes the deal with a pretend shake of the fin and
tosses the fish theatrically to his colleague behind the counter,
who makes a backhanded circus catch before brandishing a large
fillet knife that gleams in his hand.
Each spring, as the dogwoods begin to bloom, salmon leave
the deep-blue pastures of the North Pacific and return to their
natal streams to spawn and die. For millennia, people in salmon
country—from Alaska to California and inland to Idaho—have
celebrated this miraculous gift from the sea.
To research my book on salmon culture, I traveled the region
and spent time with those who know salmon best, from com-
mercial and tribal fishermen to scientists, anglers, and chefs,
all of them connected in one form or another to the ultimate
wild food in North America.