For the Gardner family, fishing has always offered a path to reach their goals. As a student at Western Washington University in the early 80s, Don Gardner began spending his summers crewing commercial fishing vessels in Alaska to pay his way through school. In 1997, Don struck off on his own, purchasing the F/V Maggie Lynn. When his children Matt and Maggie were teens, he offered them the same opportunity he once had: spend summers in Alaska with him to pay for their college.
Maggie fell in love with fishing, and the family business was born. Today, she serves as Wild Bay's head of sales of marketing, negotiating accounts with stores and restaurants, marketing to the public, making deliveries around the region, and doing demos of their delicious smoked salmon at Town & Country.
"I love watching people's eyes light up when you give them a sample," she shares.
This hands-on approach is central to how Wild Bay runs. As a small family operation, the Gardners care deeply about the waters they fish, the health of wild fish populations, and the customers they serve.
The Wild Bay Way
Every salmon Wild Bay catches is harvested with sustainability top of mind. Managed by the state of Alaska to protect fish populations, Wild Bay offers only high-quality, traceable seafood. The company proudly supports Alaska’s strict management of the Bristol Bay watershed, so every bite is not only delicious, but also wild and responsibly caught.
"Fish deserve our respect," Maggie says. "So many salmon runs have gone away from pollution and overfishing, but Bristol Bay does things differently."
That stewardship includes third-party audits by the Marine Stewardship Council, carefully managed fishing windows set by the Department of Fish and Game, and close coordination with biologists at the University of Washington to track salmon runs and predict fish numbers each season.
Nature Knows Best
Wild Bay knows there’s more to wild sockeye salmon than its impressive health benefits (we’re talking omega-3s, lean protein, and big boosts for your heart and brain). The same factors that contribute to its health benefits also enhance its flavor.
So why does wild sockeye taste better than farmed? It comes down to their diet and habitat. Farmed salmon typically consume fish pellets. In the wild, sockeye feast on zooplankton, krill, and small crustaceans, which gives their meat that rich, more complex flavor. Plus, swimming freely in cold, fast-moving waters helps them develop leaner, firmer flesh, with a clean, fresh taste farmed fish just can’t match. Wild Bay customers notice—many say it’s the best salmon they’ve ever had.
Flash Freezing? We're Into It.
We know what you're thinking: fresh is best. But when it comes to fish, that's not always the case.
"If you can buy fish fresh from the boat, that’s the way to go, but the way our world and shipment works, that’s not always possible," explains Maggie.
Given the distance to fishing grounds, time at sea, and final transport to the retailer, fresh fish could actually be eight to ten days old by the time it reaches you. In contrast, flash freezing fish within 24 hours of the catch locks in quality, nutrients, and flavor.
"Thawed slowly in a fridge, it will be just as good as if you got it straight from the bay," says Maggie.
Small Business, Big Impact
We're big believers in buying local: it's easier on the environment, it keeps money in the community, and knowing who produces your food gives you a better appreciation of the work that goes into what you eat.
In the case of sockeye, buying from family-run fishing operations like Wild Bay has other benefits as well. The first is obvious: fair pay. The fewer middlemen there are between you and your fisherman, the more compensation they're likely to receive for their catch, which in turn supports the local economy.
Buying direct also means you know exactly where your fish came from, how it was caught, and that it actually is what you think it is. "There's so much 'fishy fraud,'" Maggie explains. "At the end of the day, if you don’t know where your fish comes from you don't know if what you’re eating is as good for you as you think it is or if it’s healthy for the planet."
One More Reason to Love Wild Bay
Wild Bay understands the importance of giving back to local fishing communities, which is why it donates 1% of all net profits to the Food Bank of Alaska. Last year, they provided nearly 800 meals to Alaskans in need.