The delicious pink salmon fillet I purchased from Chelsea Keutmann of Sea to Shore Seafood Co. Saturday, Feb. 5 at the bimonthly Bellingham Dockside Market came from the waters off a tiny town in southeast Alaska called Point Baker. Chelsea’s husband, Peter Keutmann, caught it in Sumner Strait, an area known to produce high-quality, high-fat salmon.
Chelsea and Peter reside in Bellingham but spend part of the year in the small island community of Petersburg, Alaska. There, they fish for halibut, cod and five different species of salmon, which are sustainably harvested and pressure-bled before being filleted and blast-frozen or shipped out fresh.
With a focus on seafood that supports both healthy fisheries and healthy marine ecosystems, the duo has found that selling their edible wares at places such as the Dockside Market and the Bellingham Farmers Market provides them with more ways to connect with customers.
“One of our missions with our seafood business is highlighting the importance of each fisherman’s unique story and giving the consumers the chance to get to know their fishermen,” Chelsea said when asked what made them want to get involved with the waterfront market taking place every first and third Saturday at Squalicum Harbor.
“This is exactly that, in its purest form. I love meeting people face-to-face that are buying and cooking our seafood. I enjoy educating the consumer on fishing methods as well as suggesting different cuts of meat or different species. There is such a mystery around where seafood comes from and the more we can connect consumers directly to the fishermen, the smaller the gap in that mystery becomes.”
In addition to the frozen sockeye, coho, keta and pink salmon Sea to Shore was selling Feb. 5, their offerings included scallops, spot prawns, halibut and smoked salmon in tins, pouches, jars and frozen strips. The salmon bellies, “burger” meat and collars that were also being sold point to the Keutmann’s desire to utilize 100% of the fish they catch.
Frozen pink salmon caught by Peter Keutmann near the waters off a tiny town in southeast Alaska called Point Baker. One fillet baked with lemons, butter and salt and pepper made for a delicious Valentine’s Day dinner. (Amy Kepferle/Cascadia Daily News)
As a fourth-generation commercial fisherman born and raised in Alaska, Chelsea said sustainability is of the utmost importance to their company, as they want future generations to be able to catch and sell seafood. By focusing more on quality than quantity, selling lesser-known and more affordable species such as pink and keta (chum) salmon, using every part of the catch and ensuring customers can find out where their fish was caught (and who caught it), they’ve created a business model that allows them to feel good about their profession of choice.
Although the Keutmanns weren’t part of the first Dockside Market in October 2020, they’ve since gotten “hooked” on the collaboration between Bellingham SeaFeast, the Port of Bellingham and the Working Waterfront Coalition of Whatcom County.
“The market has been very well received with loyal and returning customers,” Chelsea said. “I’ve since become a member of the new vendor approval committee and serve on the SeaFeast board representing dockside vendors.”
Among these vendors is Ficus Chan of Crab Bellingham, who has been present at the markets since the beginning, and has branched out from selling Dungeness crab to working directly with Taylor Shellfish Farms to source Totten Inlet mussels, manila clams and a variety of oysters.
When I arrived at the most recent market at noon, everything at Chan’s booth was sold out except for 19 fresh Pacific oysters, which I promptly purchased. Other offerings on-site that day included frozen gourmet seafood chowders from Island Girl Seafood, side-striped shrimp sold by Icy Fresh Seafood, Alaskan halibut and black cod fillets at Jean C. Family Fisheries, and marine-inspired art prints, clothes and mugs from the Scow (otherwise known as Tom Crestodina, a fisherman turned artist).
While it’s not guaranteed that all of the aforementioned retailers will be at Squalicum Harbor during the next Dockside Market taking place from 10 am. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 — a list of participants and what they’ll be selling goes out on the market’s Facebook page Fridays — Sea to Shore Seafood Co. will be there, as well as at the Bellingham Farmers Market’s monthly winter market taking place simultaneously at Depot Market Square.
Those who miss out on the weekend events can source Sea to Shore’s goods regularly at both Community Food Co-ops in Bellingham, Keenan’s at the Pier, and via delivery to the greater Bellingham area. Chelsea said making their products available in different ways has proven to be a win-win situation.
“We try and diversify ourselves as much as we can in both products we offer, as well as sales outlets,” she said. “During the start of the COVID outbreak, some of our restaurants stopped buying as much fish and all the farmers markets got shut down. Luckily, we had other sales avenues and our business actually flourished. As we continue to grow, we are very committed to selling truly traceable seafood and are actively working on a new label design that traces each piece of seafood back to the boat and fisherman who caught it.”
