Who we are
Redeemer Fish Company is owned by Erik and Jennifer Johnson. The fishing vessel, Redeemer, is a 60-foot steel vessel specialized in providing a “sushi” grade product to market. The vessel is rigged with massive refrigeration, capable of freezing tuna and salmon FAST! Salmon can be frozen, with core temps to -20 degrees Fahrenheit, in less than 60 minutes. Individual portion size fillets are frozen within minutes. This exceptionally fast freezing time truly locks in freshness and prevents degradation of product providing clients with a fish that is literally “day zero” fish. That’s my “coined” term for properly Frozen-At-Sea product. Like any product, anywhere, not all are the same. Some boats freeze differently with different methods, and this sometimes means adding a hyper solution of salt into saltwater which is absorbed into the fish. This is called a brine freezing method which can increase production and downtime. Many fresh boats use only ice, which is limiting in it’s own way. True “Blast” boats (also known as freezer boats) are typically limited on production on freezing capacity. So quite often during the summer fishing season, we have caught our daily inventory and we must shut down early and allow the freezer to freeze properly so that quality is maintained. Freezing on the Redeemer is done with contact plate freezing (see video here).
As you can see, quality is what you get with Redeemer Fish Company. Quality has been our family mission and tradition for decades. Purchasing the Redeemer in 2016 has allowed us to deliver the finest quality Albacore Tuna and Troll Caught King Salmon directly from our boat to your dinner table. Buying direct from the fisherman allows the client to develop a trust-based relationship. This relationship will carry with it a quality that is not often found anywhere in seafood market relationships.
The fish we are providing is the markets’ best! This fish would reasonably sell in the marketplace or restaurant for twice or more than what you are able to buy it from us directly! Buying Fisherman Direct is a win win for you and for us. It is no secret, fishing biomass inventories are cyclical and management in our current situation can be tricky. With the costs of everything going up and harvestable biomass going down, fishermen need to be paid accordingly in order to provide a healthy, wild, and the truly fresh option to clients that insist on only the best seafood for their family. I don’t blame you for a second for wanting good quality seafood. I’m the same way, you won’t catch me spending my hard-earned money on second best or even mediocre seafood at the store. And NOW, you don’t have to worry about getting second best! All the fish harvested onboard Redeemer are personally cared for by me, Erik Johnson, so give me a call anytime, and if I don’t answer the phone then I’m probably landing a fish! Fish ON!
Day Zero Fish
“Day Zero” fish is what the Redeemer strives to deliver to its customers. What does this mean? “Day Zero” is a coined term by fisherman Erik Johnson. Quality has always been his passion. There are millions of pounds of seafood delivered into coastal ports in the US, and only a small fraction of this seafood is regarded as “fresh fresh”. So let’s break it down for a better understanding of fish quality that is currently the standard in fresh seafood markets. (see youtube assertation) An average salmon troller leaves the dock and throws his gear in the water on day one of fishing, he brings in a catch of twenty salmon on day one. On day two he fishes and does the same, and on day three, and on day four he also catches salmon and ices them all down as he brings them in. The salmon buyers want the salmon delivered and sold on day 5, no later than that. The fish will be sold and moved across a dock on day 5 where they will be loaded onto trucks and then usually driven hours away to a processing plant. The fish will be reset in ice and then the next day, day 6, the fish will be processed into orders for seafood markets and or restaurants. The fish will be delivered to market ASAP after processing and finally, the end consumer will have a crack at obtaining a piece of wonderful fresh fish. However, by this time the fish is SEVEN days old! If the fish isn’t instantly purchased or eaten at a restaurant, the fish now sits another day and so on until it is either sold or thrown away from spoilage “alert”.
So, is fresh fish fresh? I suppose that depends on the eye of the beholder or the “nose” of the beholder for that matter. Erik can assure you that “Day Zero” fish is frozen within minutes of being landed from the fishes’ natural habitat. The fish is then maintained at a temperature of -18 degrees Fahrenheit or colder for preservation. *Now this is key* – Upon thawing, the salmon or albacore were frozen so rapidly that the muscle of the fish hasn’t seen rigor mortis. This is all an important factor in freshness! Ever seen the wonderful videos of the fish getting thrown around at Pike Place Market in Seattle, of course, you have, that stuff makes me cringe! The fish are all floppy and wiggly right? Well, that is because the fish has aged past the rigor mortis phase and into the phase of relaxation which is now when the flesh (the stuff we like to consume) starts breaking down at a rapid rate of decay. Fish that are fresh, look hard and stiff, are in rigor and that is what you’re after. A fish in rigor mortis is in a state of preservation. However, with only icing fish for preservation, the unique phase of rigor mortis only lasts for 24 hours or sometimes a little longer based on bleeding and handling technique immediately after the fish is landed (see youtube assertion on pressure bleeding). Some specialty seafood markets understand that shelf life is important, so much so, that some quality seafood is actually put onto commercial airline jets and flown from seafood ports to cities across American in order to try and shorten the time of delivery in order to preserve the quality of the fish. Again, we get into the argument of fresh fish, well, just how fresh!
The New Fresh Frozen – Making each customer one by one a BELIEVER!
Well, you say it hasn’t been frozen, and FRESH is better than frozen! And I only spend the big bucks on fish that has not been frozen! I understand completely, as quality orientated fisherman, haven’t done our job of promoting a proper FAS (frozen at sea) product and why many times it’s a better, fresher, product than actual fresh. We’ve all had the freezer-burned nasty piece of fish that you never want to taste again, I know. However, we’ve all walked into the local seafood store and immediately our noses say, “whoa, no fresh product here, please turn around and leave.” So in both circumstances, the fish quality is only procured through proper methods. The fresh fish has its own difficulties as mentioned before, it’s been only iced, changed hands three and probably four hands before it’s even sold to you as the consumer, it’s probably a week old and a good chance it’s even older than that. Securing and developing a trust relationship between fisherman and customers will reassure that your investment is protected with our FRESH guarantee. IF the product you’ve ordered isn’t perfect, then I won’t sell it to you. That’s the incredible thing about buying direct.
Is Fresh Best?
Now I’m not knocking true fresh, never been frozen piece of fish. There is always a time and a place for it. However, not all of us have time to just swing in and buy a superb quality piece of fish. So now we’re to rely on the trust of the Safeway Seafood “guy” to deliver something edible. The Redeemer handles fresh iced fish and sells directly to customers fresh salmon never frozen. However, and once again, not many of us have the chance to meet the boat when it comes in and get the fresh piece of fish, and then it needs to be eaten while its fresh. So, the next best thing, which when understanding what goes into the making of it, “day zero” fish! And if individual portions are your thing, get Redeemer fish right off the boat, individually prepared by Erik and his team (see video) into custom cuts, custom vacuum packed, blast frozen, and shipped overnight to your doorstep. Now enjoy a fresh salmon all throughout the year to come with no wastage, no spoilage!!
And I’ve learned over the years, that once that trust is broken and you’ve been sold something less than impressive, you’re not going back asking for more. That won’t be the case with Redeemer Fish Company fish. Just ask our clients (watch youtube video, clients testimonials).
Erik and Jennifer, want you to rest assured that you’re buying quality, and if you buy from Redeemer Fish Company, you can rest assured that we’ve personally handled each fish, or piece of fish. This means you won’t receive anything that we personally would not eat!! And we’ve been labeled as fish snobs, and rightly so. WE are very particular about what we feed our family and we know you are too!