I have not bought any fresh tilapia, red snapper, etc. for home cooking. Not sure why. When I did see the rare fresh catch of freshwater pickerel, whitefish at the market, I did buy 1 since it's been several YEARS I've had one of those fish. Those fish are more common in Central Canada (probably northern central U.S.).

The salmon runs have been noticeably low this year. It is reflected in the still high pricing of fresh salmon at the fish mongers in the Greater Vancouver area when right now the pricing should be lower if there was a healthy run of salmon. Wonder what Seattle is witnessing right now.

Federal Canadian Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is trying to figure out why (as they have been for past few years) since it is this govn't authority that has the legal right to impose limits on river/ocean activities that can threaten salmon sustanability. There was a recent article in the press a month ago, that the silt dredging from the Fraser River might be one particular cause, a major river which all of the Pacific salmon enter in to lay eggs upstream in the river beds and in the secondary rivers/streams..

DFO does impose real limits on construction /industrial activities by rivers where there are the salmon runs at certain times of the year. Int he environmental protection world it is called the "fish window", for that time period. I worked for nearly 3 years at a construction site near the mouth of the Fraser River/Pacific Ocean where traditionally over 1 million salmon swim inland.

But still, the sea/marine ecosystem is a fragile thing where 1 event can spin-off effects for many years thereafter.

Best to eat salmon....reverentially and not waste the fish that you have on hand.