Beginnings
In 2002, arborist-turned-wild-seafood-pioneer Stephen Kurian and his then-girlfriend Jenn headed off to the raw, tide-driven waters of Bristol Bay, Alaska for the sockeye salmon season. They joined crews with hungry enthusiasm, learned fast, and by their second season found themselves side by side aboard the fishing vessel F/V RJ.
When they returned home to Pennsylvania, boxes of glistening sockeye salmon in hand, they realised they weren’t just bringing back fish — they were carrying something rare: wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon of exceptional quality, right into the heart of the East Coast.
With nothing more than a chest freezer and a pick-up truck, Steve and Jenn committed to turning that discovery into a business. Jenn taught by day, and by evening they packed salmon portions and crafted salmon burgers. Week by week, pound by pound, they built their dream. They brought in a relative, began selling at Forks Farm Market, and offered a product no one else on the Eastern seaboard could: sustainably-harvested, wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon, handled end-to-end by the people who fished, packed and delivered it.
Because they had intimate knowledge of the process, they could maintain both superior quality and competitive pricing. Word spread. The Mid-Atlantic began talking about the Kurians and their rare commodity.
After a few seasons, Steve and Jenn took the bold step of purchasing the F/V RJ — the very vessel on which they’d learned the trade — and ramped up. More markets. The first retail outlets. Restaurant partners. Their early days were wild with possibility.
Growth & Expansion
Year after year, the vision grew. The catch grew. The team grew. The business matured. They added a network of trusted fishermen and expanded the product line beyond salmon: Alaska whitefish, shellfish, halibut, sea scallops, Pacific cod, black cod. What began as a salmon-business gradually matured into a full‐fledged “sustainable seafood” brand.
They added a freezer-truck to their fleet, brought wholesale to natural food retailers, buying clubs, CSAs, and restaurants across the region. In 2010, they opened their flagship retail space: The Wild For Salmon Store in Bloomsburg, PA. At last, a physical home: a state-of-the-art facility, freezer trucks rolling daily, a growing team deeply knowledgeable in Seafood + Cooking + Sustainability.
Today
Now, Wild For Salmon is a force. Five fishermen in the field, sixteen full-time staff, a fully-staffed store open six days a week, two freezer trucks on the road almost every day delivering fresh wild-caught seafood across the East Coast. And yes, now they ship via dry-ice nationwide to individuals, co-ops, buying clubs, restaurants.
Their commitment has never wavered: wild-caught. Sustainable. North American species only. Over 25 species now — halibut, black cod, Albacore tuna, king crab, scallops, octopus, Gulf shrimp and more. No piece of fish is overlooked. Quality is audited at every step — from vessel to fork.
Their products are found in farmers markets, co-ops, CSAs, natural food stores, and in kitchens of Northeast PA’s finest chefs: at venues such as the Inn at Turkey Hill, Turkey Hill Brewing Company, Bullfrog Brewery, Blind Pig Kitchen, Selin’s Grove Brewery, The Peter Herdic House, Emma’s Food for Life.
Jenn puts it simply: “We started this business to give people a natural, sustainably-harvested high-quality salmon. We’re proud to offer our wild Alaska sockeye because of its superior quality and its essential role in mind & body health.”
Our Promise
We deliver more than fish: we deliver a connection to place. From the icy waters of Alaska to the plate in the Mid-Atlantic, our story is one of hands in the water, trucks on the road, and passionate people driven to bring you wild seafood you’ll believe in — and savour.
