Frozen Atlantic Salmon: HOG Fish, Trimmed Fillets, Portions and Steaks

Product overview

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) ranks among the highest-value species in the international seafood trade, and commercial supply is almost entirely farmed, in sea cages along cold, sheltered coastlines. Norway is by far the largest producer and Chile the second, with further volume from Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Canada and Tasmania. Salmon is not a Thai species, and we do not present it as one: each order is sourced from partner packers in the farming country, or from secondary processors that cut fish from those origins into fillets and portions. The offer names both the country where the salmon was raised and the plant that processed it, which matters for labeling, for import eligibility and for customers who ask where their fish came from.

Whole fish are traded head-on and gutted (HOG) and graded by weight in kilogram bands, usually 1⁠–⁠2, 2⁠–⁠3, 3⁠–⁠4, 4⁠–⁠5 and 5⁠–⁠6 kg, with 6 kg and up for large-fillet programs. Producers also sort HOG salmon into superior, ordinary and production quality classes on the basis of external appearance, such as wounds, bruising, deformities and scale loss, and production grade is meant for processing rather than whole-fish sale. Fillets are described by trim, from Trim A, where the backbone and belly bones are removed but the pin bones stay in, through progressively cleaner cuts to Trim E, which is skinless and fully trimmed with pin bones out. Flesh color is scored against a standard color card, and retail and sushi buyers often write a minimum score into the specification.

The freezing format follows the cut. HOG fish are blast-frozen and glazed whole; fillets are usually vacuum-packed one by one or interleaved in cartons; and portions are cut from fillets to fixed weights such as 125 g, 150 g or 180 g, then frozen IQF or sealed in vacuum skin packs. Steaks are cut across the backbone, which keeps them economical for buffets and banquet menus. When samples arrive, buyers typically look at gaping between the muscle blocks, leftover pin bones, blood spots, dark melanin spots, belly-flap thickness and color score, along with yellowing fat or dry, pale patches that point to long storage or temperature abuse. How those findings link back to a lot code is set out on our export quality assurance page.

Frozen salmon supplies sushi counters, hotel buffets, retail portion ranges and processors making smoked, marinated and ready-meal lines. Sashimi programs tend to specify a higher color score and clean fat lines, retail chains in Europe and North America lean on skinless, boneless portions, and buyers with their own cutting rooms take HOG fish. Cold-smoked sliced salmon, produced by smokehouses in the farming countries, can be supplied frozen by arrangement. Menus built around salmon often add salmon roe and other fish roes, and frozen barramundi gives kitchens a white-fleshed alternative at a different price point.