With fresh wild Alaskan salmon a pretty penny and California’s commercial salmon fishing seasoned cancelled this year because of dwindling wild stocks, what’s a salmon lover to do?

Open up a can.

Canned salmon has come a long way since my childhood, when my economical mom would pry open the top of a tin and plop out the contents, bones and all that were soft enough to actually eat, but perhaps not the most attractive looking.

Sausalito’s Safe Catch takes canned salmon to new heights, First, it sources sustainable salmon from the Alaska Salmon Fishery or northern Pacific Ocean, following the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guide. Second, every salmon is tested for mercury, with Safe Catch accepting only those that are 25 times lower than the FDA action limit. Third, each can contains no fillers, just salmon and salt.

That means the canned salmon is not only healthier for the planet but for expectant mothers or anyone concerned about ingesting too much mercury.

I recently received samples to try of the Safe Catch Wild Pacific Pink Salmon.

The first thing you notice upon opening the can is that it’s not swimming in liquid. What little there is actually constitutes the natural juices of the salmon. So, just stir it back in, as you flake the fish.

There aren’t any bones, either. Just meaty fish that’s barely pink in color, and closely resembles tuna actually.

The taste is fairly mild tasting, not quite as rich in flavor as fresh wild salmon.

It’s handy to have on hand year-round, though. It works great in salads of any kind, pasta dishes, sandwiches, and grain bowls.

A 5-ounce can has 90 calories per 1.5-ounce serving, 2.5g of total fat, 18g protein, 32 percent of the daily recommended Vitamin D, and 140mg sodium.

Find it at Sprouts, Safeway, Nob Hill, Bi-Rite Market, Andronico’s, and Mollie Stone’s.