Owners of the Seattle Kraken professional ice hockey team have a new partnership with Bristol Bay seafood processors that puts wild Alaska sockeye salmon and Pacific cod options on the home game menu beginning with the 2021-22 season for this National Hockey League team.
The menu prepared by Molly DeMers, executive chef at the Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, ranges from Wild Alaska Panko Cod and Grilled Wild Sockeye Street Tacos to Wild Alaska Cod Fish N Chips, Bristol Bay wild sockeye fillets on a baguette and seasonal clam and Bering Sea Wild Alaska Cod Chowder.
The Bristol Bay Wild Market inside Climate Pledge Arena is a collaboration between Bristol Bay Native Corp., its subsidiary Bristol Wild Seafood, and the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.
“This new marketplace is not only the perfect opportunity to share the stories of our fleet and organization, but also to give more people the chance to experience the benefits of their hard work,” said Andy Wink, executive director of BBRSDA, which represents gillnetters in the Bristol Bay fishery.
BBNC and its subsidiary see the introduction of wild Alaska seafood as a menu option also as a way to educate ice hockey fans on the importance of protecting Alaska marine habitats and the culture that unites these partners of the Kraken, a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the NHL.
“The respect given to the environment and treatment of fish results in a better quality product and will help our customers understand what sustainable fishing means for future generations,” BWSC President Everette Anderson said. “We’re excited that this is something millions of arena visitors will soon learn.”
The Kraken will be the first professional hockey team to play in Seattle since the Seattle Totems of the Western Hockey League played their last game in 1975 and the first Seattle hockey team to compete for the Stanley Cup since the Seattle Metropolitans, which won the Stanley Cup in 1917 and folded in 1924.