Alaskan wild sockeye salmon roe (ikura)
Global Rare Foods & Ingredients

Alaskan wild sockeye salmon roe (ikura)

Large, ruby-red sockeye roe from the world's most abundant wild salmon fishery.

OriginBristol Bay, Alaska, USA
Indian subcontinentNo
CategoryGlobal Rare Foods & Ingredients
Retail price band$$$ ($30–$70 per lb retail, cured/salted)
Bulk / trade price bandWholesale frozen ikura: indicative $12–$25/kg (ex-vessel/processor, grade-dependent)
Sourcing statusDossier researched from public sources — producer contact not yet established
Compliance statusPreliminary review complete (see below) — not yet legally verified
Request trade sheet More in Global Rare Foods & Ingredients
Dossier researched, photography pending. The sections below are drawn from the cited public sources. This is desk research, not yet verified by direct producer contact or legal counsel — treat pricing, compliance and provenance detail as a working draft for due diligence, not a final trade sheet.

Detailed study

Ikura is cured sockeye (or other Pacific) salmon roe, separated into individual eggs, typically brined in salt or soy-based tare; sockeye roe is valued for its deep red-orange color, firm pop and clean flavor compared to other Pacific salmon species.

Provenance & producer

Bristol Bay, Alaska hosts the world's largest sockeye salmon run, with fish caught by permitted drift and set gillnet fleets under Alaska Department of Fish and Game escapement-based management; roe is separated and processed at shore-based or floating processors soon after catch to preserve freshness.

Market & pricing

Bristol Bay accounts for roughly half of global sockeye harvest and a large share of world wild salmon roe supply; demand is driven by Japanese ikura/sushi markets and growing US/European gourmet retail, with Bristol Bay branding used as a premium sustainability marketing point.

Compliance & export

Bristol Bay sockeye fishery is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified for sustainability and managed under strict state escapement-goal regulation; export requires FDA/USDC seafood inspection compliance and, for EU-bound product, EU health-certificate seafood import rules. Not CITES-listed.

Sources

Image status

A working reference photograph is in place, captured from a freely-licensed Wikimedia Commons source. Ikuradon, a bowl of rice topped with salmon roe (ikura), Flickr user Blue Lotus, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Note: illustrative of ikura generally; not documented as wild Alaskan sockeye specifically. Treat this as a placeholder for marketing purposes: exact licence terms should be re-verified on the Commons file page, and original producer photography is recommended before final trade use.