Please don't eat the rotten salmon.
When salmon begin their spawning run they stop eating. They rely entirely on the fat reserves in their bodies to fuel them for the swim ahead. By the time the salmon reach their spawning grounds their fat (which gives the meat its rich flavor and delicate texture) is entirely gone. Even worse, because they stop eating they shut down their digestive system to conserve energy. Their stomach and intestines begin to rot soon after.
Once the salmon spawns the rest of its organs begin shutting down and its muscles start to deteriorate. This is what leads to the phenomenon known as “zombie salmon,” salmon that are rotting alive post-spawning. They may linger in this state for several weeks before finally succumbing to death.
These fish are still alive… technically.
So is this one
Bears, eagles, etc. will often catch salmon early in their run when they still have most of their fat and muscle, but by the time of their death the only things eating them are worms, aquatic insects, and the kinds of bacteria that make rotten meat toxic. The salmon may have died a few days ago, but it had already been rotting for weeks.
That said, there is one species that may be edible (and by “edible” I mean “won't poison you”) after spawning: the Atlantic salmon. While most Atlantic salmon die after spawning, 10–15% of them survive the ordeal and return to the ocean afterwards. However, like their Pacific cousins the Atlantic salmon stops eating during its spawning run, and the meat of a post-spawn Atlantic salmon is unappealing due to the loss of its fat reserves. Based on what I've heard from fishermen who ate spawning salmon, the meat has a bland flavor and mushy texture. It's probably even worse for post-spawn Atlantic salmon.
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