Copper River Salmon

A Promising Start to the 2024 Copper River Salmon Season

2024-05-20

As the 2024 Copper River Salmon season begins, there's an unmistakable buzz in the air. Cordova, a small fishing town in Alaska, transforms with excitement and anticipation, making it the perfect place to kick off the fishing season. This year, the Sockeye salmon have impressed everyone with their larger-than-average size and vibrant, healthy appearance. The overall catch on opening day has surpassed previous years, marking a positive start to the season. Despite the elusive nature of the Kings, we've seen a few thanks to careful selection and meticulous preparation. Reporting from the Copper River Delta, direct marketer Sena Sea shares with us the tales of the first opener.

The 2024 Copper River Salmon season is off to a good start!

I always fly up to Alaska to fish the opener with Rich.

It's a fun time to be in Cordova, because the little fishing town comes alive with anticipation and optimism. It's a small moment in time when everything is about to happen, and anything can happen.

We heard lots of opening day stories and told a few. Like the time Rich had spent a lot of time and money putting new engines in the boat during the winter...and then his sleeping bag fell into the engine the day before the opener, causing him to miss the whole thing.

This year, we heard an animated story from a seasoned fisherman that spent half the opener stuck on a sandbar, which is actually quite common in the tough to navigate Copper River Delta.

Everyone was very impressed with the Sockeye salmon this year. They are larger than average with healthy bright scales and beautiful color. Plus, the overall catch was many times larger than we've seen on opening day for the last several years!

The Kings were elusive as usual. They run amongst the Sockeye, but in much smaller numbers. Everyone wants the kings...but lucky for us, I know a guy.

Rich selected the best fish for our customers first, and Tammy (our floor manager at 60 North) hand cut every portion for us with love and care. And I'm not just saying that -she told me so many times.

We stayed up late getting our new packaging just right, followed by an early morning box up, and I flew home with the fish myself.

The fresh fish is in perfect condition...but the rest of us are in need of a good night's sleep!

We are still taking fresh and frozen pre-orders and shipping as we catch it over the next few weeks!

Sena holds degrees in nutrition and food science in addition to being a mom, foodie, and fifth-generation fisherman's wife. Visit her at senasea.com where she shares about family, fish, and food.

Salmon, Sonar, & Sustainability: Part 2

2020-08-28

Why should we care about salmon? Salmon form an incredible link between the nutrient-rich waters of the ocean and relatively nutrient-poor freshwater ecosystems (and their adjacent terrestrial landscapes). Salmon are anadromous, meaning they are born in freshwater streams and lakes, and after spending some amount of their young lives in these habitats (it varies by species) they migrate out into the ocean. There they will spend the majority of their adult lives, feeding in the bountiful waters of the ocean and storing that energy in the tissues of their growing bodies. When salmon reach maturity, they participate in one of the great annual migrations of the world, travelling back to the lakes and streams they were originally born in — a behavior referred to as homing.

This journey can take months and is the ultimate test of how much energy each salmon was able to store from the ocean — food is scarce in the river, and many salmon will not eat at all during the migration. Once there, males will compete for position near females, who are digging nests in the gravel called redds. The females will deposit eggs in the redd, and the successful males will release their milt, fertilizing the eggs and seeding the next generation of salmon. Eventually all of the fish that participated in this migration will die, allowing the nutrients stored in their tissues to become available for other forms of life.

Wherever salmon exist, they play an important role as a food source for many different organisms. Some are species we are accustomed to associating with salmon like bears, eagles, and seals — but salmon are even a great source of nutrients for some unexpected things like microbes, fungi, and plants! Humans are no exception. Salmon have been central in subsistence and semi-subsistence lifestyles wherever they have overlapped with humans in space and time, a tradition that continues today.

Additionally, Pacific salmon feed people all over the world, supporting an industry that is the backbone of many coastal Alaskan communities and an important economy for the state. These amazing fish are important and valuable in so many ways, and that is what makes science and management such an important part of this story. Scientific study provides our best source of accurate information, and management decisions give us tools to try to keep that population healthy and sustainable while still providing harvest opportunities.

This nexus of science, management, and fishing is at the heart of Alaska’s fisheries. These amazing fish are vital parts of their ecosystem, support local communities through commercial and subsistence fishing, provide some of the highest quality food to the world, and are also beautiful and meaningful in their own right. By striving for sustainability, we hope to keep these wonderful salmon in our world and on our plates for generations to come.

Miles Lake Sonar Crew

View: Copper River (Miles Lake) Fish Count Data

Curry

2020-06-29

Is there a difference between curry powder and paste?

Curry powders and pastes can share some universal spices but, the flavor components of each are distinct from the other. In fact, typically these two mixtures are used to prepare different kinds of cuisine altogether. While curry powder is a staple of Indian cooking, curry paste (which is also sometimes used in Indian cooking, but more rarely) is most often associated with the deeply spicy and fragrant flavors of Thai cuisine.

Curry paste has an extremely potent flavor achieved by the hand crushing or machine processing of a variety of strong spices and herbs like red chilies, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and Kaffir lime. Curry paste can be a variation of red, brown, green or yellow. Red and brown curry paste typically have more heat while yellow and green are more mild.

Curry powder is a dried spice mixture made with a base of turmeric, red pepper, cumin, and coriander, often also incorporating paprika, fennel seed, mustard, and more.

To decrease the heat in any dish, add additional coconut milk, sweetness or acidity.

What style of curry is right for you?

Red Curry: (kreung gaeng phet daeng) incorporates coconut milk in the sauce along with the curry paste, which includes garlic, spices, galangal, and shrimp paste along with the red chilies. Classically spicy, add more coconut milk to suit your palate.

Yellow Curry: (nam prik gaeng karee) has a mild, somewhat sweet taste with a little bit of spice. In addition to the turmeric, curry powder is pounded combined with coriander seeds, cumin, lemongrass, galangal or ginger, garlic, and yellow or red chili.

Green Curry: (kreung gaeng keo wahn) fresh coriander (cilantro), makrut lime leaf and peel, and basil are combined with fresh green chilies and several other ingredients such as lemongrass, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, and shallots.

What salmon is right for your curry?

We've compiled a few recipes from our friends and our own recipe library.

Ingredients

4-6 Copper River Salmon steaks
1-3 tbs red curry paste, to taste
1 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs sugar
3 (13oz) cans of coconut milk
2 cups chicken broth
2 red bell peppers cut into 1” pieces
1 large green or yellow zucchini, chopped
2 cups fresh Thai basil leaves
1 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
3 tbs olive oil
2 cups jasmine rice, prepared as directed

Directions

Grease a well-cleaned grill thoroughly with non-stick cooking spray Grill fish for at least 3-5 minutes on each side or until flesh is opaque and separates easily with a fork

Remove salmon from the grill and set aside In a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat, combine red curry paste, fish sauce and sugar, stir thoroughly

Add 1 can of coconut milk, bring to a simmer and reduce to mediumlow heat, stir often. Sauce will thicken after about 15 minutes

Add remaining coconut milk and stock with bell pepper and zucchini, simmer 5 minutes or until slightly tender

Remove from heat and add the fresh herbs

To serve, ladle sauce over plated rice, top with salmon and garnish with jalapeño and basil as desired

Ingredients

1 lb (450 g) salmon, skin on & cut into 4 fillets
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons green curry
paste (*Footnote 1)
1 can (13.5 oz/ 382 g) coconut milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1 small Japanese eggplant, halved & cut into half-inch chunks
6 basil leaves, sliced

Directions

In a large skillet or a wide saucepan add the 2 teaspoons of oil and heat over medium heat until warm. Add the curry paste. Cook and stir to release the fragrance, about 1 minute.

Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir to combine everything. Taste the mixture and adjust the fish sauce and sugar to your preference. (*Footnote 1)

Bring the broth to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low to reduce it to a simmer. Cook until the curry is mostly thickened, 10 minutes.

While the broth simmers, sprinkle a pinch of salt evenly onto both sides of the salmon. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil to a separate pan over high heat until it is just smoking. Place the salmon, skin-side-down into the hot pan. Cook until the skin is brown and crisp, about a minute.

Once done, transfer the salmon to a big plate and set it aside.Once the broth is reduced, add the green beans and eggplant. Stir to mix well. Continue to simmer for another 4 minutes.

Arrange the vegetables to create 4 wells, about the size of the fillets. Place the cooked salmon skin-side-up in the wells. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes, until the salmon is just cooked through.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the basil leaves. Serve hot over steamed rice as a main dish.

*Chef Notes- Every brand of curry

paste is different, so you may need to adjust the seasoning depending on the ingredients of the curry paste you are using.

Ingredients

1 lb copper river salmon
1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil
15 curry leaves
2 tablespoons ginger, peeled & cut into matchsticks
5 garlic cloves, cut into matchsticks
1 tablespoon Thai green chilis, minced
1 large tomato, diced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
1/4 cup coconut milk

Mint Chutney

1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
4 cloves of garlic
1 Thai chili
1/4 red onion
1 cup full-fat greek, or Indian, yogurt
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Blend all of the mint chutney ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Chill.

In a large saucepan over medium heat melt the coconut oil. Add in the curry leaves, ginger and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes until aromatic. Add the green chilis, tomato, curry powder, turmeric, and salt. Stir until all the spices are evenly incorporated and fragrant. Add the tamarind and coconut milk and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes until the sauce is slightly reduced. Cool fully in the fridge

In a large mixing bowl, or a Ziploc bag, pour 1/4 of the cooled mixture over the salmon and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat your grill on high for 15 minutes, place the fish on the grill skin side down and cook for 12-15 minutes with the lid open until the fish reaches an internal temp of 145 degrees. If your fish is thick and taking a bit longer, feel free to put the lid down for a few minutes of the cooking.

Enjoy with the mint chutney, rice and a big ol' salad!

Salmon, Sonar, & Sustainability: Part 1

2020-05-29

Trying to get the most complete and accurate count of salmon as they migrate up the mighty Copper River can be tricky. However, the advancement in technology and the Miles Lake sonar project provides vital information to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) for sustainable the management of the Copper River commercial fishery. Join ADF&G fisheries biologist Shane Shepherd as he explains the ins and outs of the Miles Lake sonar project and the unique challenges they've learned to overcome.

NETwork Recycling Program

2020-02-20

Sustainability and conservation are Alaskan values. The fishing families of south-central Alaska are independent, small business owners dedicated to long-term sustainability of wild salmon stocks, the environment and way of life. Our passion not only preserves our livelihood but also ensures abundance for future generations.

Gillnetting is a common harvest method used by commercial fishermen. Gillnets are composed of vertical panels of web that hang from line with regularly spaced floats, or corks, that keeps the cork line floating at the surface of the water.

Commercial fishermen in Alaska use about 800,000 to one million pounds of nylon fishing web in their nets per year. In our community, the Copper River Watershed Project, pioneered a program for net recycling. This ensures that old nylon web is recycled and repurposed to extend the life of landfills; reducing the cost to municipal operations and reducing the impact of our industry.

For the past 11 years, Copper River Watershed Project has facilitated the Cordova Recycling “NETwork” to provide a means of recycling these nets, thanks to considerable assistance from community partnerships. Through this program, they have diverted 263,712 pounds of web to date from the landfill and marine environment, and remain one of only two long term net-recycling programs in Alaska.

Previously, nets collected in Cordova were shipped to Bellingham, Washington where they were bailed and loaded in 20-ton containers for shipment to China. In China, the nets were ground up, formed into pellets and then repurposed into carpet, clothing and other common uses for nylon. This season Copper River Watershed Project will be working with a company in Canada rather than shipping to China.

All manner of fishing nets are made from components containing nylon, which can be recycled and re-processed to manufacture new products over and over again such as:

Econyl makes socks, swimsuits, and activewear to carpet.
Bureo uses pellets made from fishing nets to create sunglasses, jenga blocks, and
skateboards.
Fishy Filaments recycles fishing nets into 3D printer filament.
Patagonia integrates the fiber from fishing nets into their raincoats.
SOP recycles fishing web into carpet squares.
Also including telephones, computer parts, toothbrushes, carpeting and bicycle seats, among others.

How should I prepare my old net for recycling?

Web Only. All weedlines, corklines, leadlines and hanging twine must be removed.
Bundle web is a piece of scrap web.
Bring web for recycling during a fishing web collection event or contact CRWP at 424-3334 to arrange a time to drop off web.

Our fleet is an enthusiastic partner of this program, promoting sustainability and conservation. By preserving the rich, natural legacy of the Copper River we are ensuring this legacy will survive for generations to come.

Miso Udon with Salmon Meatballs

2020-01-06

The food you eat affects you body, mind and soul.

Here in snowy AK, fewer daylight hours and freezing temperatures can send you running for a bowl of something hot to raise your body temperature and comfort you during these long winter months. In the heart of wild salmon country, we have found the perfect solution to fill you up but not weigh you down.

Fish Forest Fungus

2019-10-04

The connection between fungus and fish goes deeper than just culinary delights. They are a part of a symbiotic cycle that keeps our forests and fisheries healthy.

Salmon are a keystone species for the ecosystems in which they live. This means that all other living things depend on salmon in some way to thrive and without them the system would not be cohesive. Wild salmon provide nutrients and food for no less than 137 different species in Alaska, including humans. Salmon are anadromous, meaning that they spend part of their lives in fresh water lakes, streams and rivers until making their way to the open ocean. Fresh water systems are relatively poor in nutrients and in order for salmon to grow they must journey to the ocean and feed on marine nutrients for several years before returning as adults to their natal streams to spawn. By coming from the ocean, the salmon are bringing with them marine minerals otherwise not abundantly found in the freshwater systems such as nitrogen and phosphorous. They transport, in their very bodies, the traces of rich ocean nutrients accumulated from their time feeding in the Gulf of Alaska and beyond.

Fungi, some of which produce mushrooms, play a vital role in forest health as they help decompose and recycle organic debris into the ecosystem. In the late summer and fall after large spawning events, forest stream banks and riverbeds are full of salmon carcasses. Fungi are essential in processing the rich marine nutrients found in salmon, such as nitrogen, and making them available for trees and other forest species.

Our homeport of Cordova celebrates this relationship with a Fungus Festival and Wild Harvest Feast each year. The Wild Harvest Feast is the annual fundraiser by our partners in conservation, the Copper River Watershed Project. The Copper River Watershed Project “promotes a salmon-rich, intact watershed and culturally diverse communities by forming partnerships for watershed-scale planning and projects.” Protecting salmon habitats and education programs are just some of the programs that promote the sustainability of our fishery.

For the past several years, we have sponsored a Chef to prepare this seasonal dinner to marry the fish, forest and fungus theme in their dishes. This year, Chef Lindsay Kucera brought her first-hand forager experience to the dinner. Born and raised in Anchorage, Lindsay Kucera has been on the Rustic Goat team nearly five years. A self-taught baker, cook, and passionate food writer, she believes in the power of food to bring people together. When she is not cooking, she loves foraging, gardening, embroidering, and exploring Alaska with curiosity and intent. Her food directly reflects the feeling of comfort but with a few modern twists.

Wild Mushroom Spring Rolls:

Miniature fried spring rolls filled with wild mushrooms from AK and the PNW (lobster, oyster, chanterelle, cremini), topped with an aioli made of foraged and local greens, bull's blood sprouts, and chives.

Coho Salmon over "Wild" Green Coconut Curry:

Sesame-fried chanterelle mushrooms, roasted sweet potatoes and roasted Coho salmon, served atop jasmine rice with a green coconut curry made with locally-foraged and AK-grown greens--nasturtiums, chickweed, dandelion, cress, chives, parsley, cilantro, etc. The salmon is topped with a slaw of shredded AK root vegetables, bull's blood sprouts, bean sprouts, and cilantro.

The night was a wonderful finale to the Fungus Festival, celebrating the relationship between fish, forest and fungi. On your next adventure through the woods, stop and take a long look around at the wonderful ecosystem that surrounds you.

If you’re inclined to support the salmon habitat conservation efforts of our partners at the Copper River Watershed, please visit them here.

Next time you’re in Anchorage, head to the Rustic Goat and order Copper River Salmon off of their menu.

Copper River Coho: 3 Mouthwatering Recipes

2019-09-04

Coho Salmon is distinguished by an approachable mild flavor and delicate texture. This late-season species are the last to return to the Copper River. Coho are a fall favorite that pair well with baked seasonal root vegetables and mushrooms.

We’ve compiled three new Coho recipes for your fall dinners! These recipes are from some of our friends who have made the journey to visit our fishery and experience Copper River Salmon with us.

#1 Stacked Coho Salmon Enchilada

By Lauren Grier, Climbing Grier Mountain

Photo and text © Lauren Grier

Ingredients

1 lb Copper River Coho Salmon
2 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ cups red enchilada sauce
1 cup canned corn, drained
1 cup black beans, drained, rinsed
2 tbs jarred jalapeño juice
1 tbs lime juice
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
4 oz plain cream cheese, room temperature
12 6-inch flour tortillas
Pico de gallo, garnish
Sour cream, garnish
Cilantro, garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Place Coho on baking sheet. Sprinkle top with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Place the salmon into the oven and bake for about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven and allow Coho to cool.

Using a fork, shred the salmon and place into a large bowl. Add 1 cup enchilada sauce, corn, black beans, jalapeño juice, cream cheese, lime juice to the bowl with the salmon. Mix until well combined.

Spray an 11x7 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour ¼ cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Top with three overlapping flour tortillas, a third of the salmon mixture, and ¼ cup cheddar cheese. Repeat layers two more times. Top with remaining three tortillas and remaining enchilada sauce; sprinkle cheese evenly over the top.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Garnish with pico, sour cream, or cilantro.

Stacked Coho Salmon Enchiladas

#2 Hot Smoked Coho Salmon

By Gerry Speirs, Foodness Gracious

Ingredients

3 ½ lb Copper River Coho Salmon fillet
¾ cup dark brown sugar
½ kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cardamom
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground coffee

Instructions

Rinse the salmon and pat dry with paper towel. Lay the salmon on baking tray skin side down. In a bowl whisk together remaining ingredients. Spread the spice mixture over the salmon completely covering it. Cover the salmon lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours, then rinse and dry again and place on a sheet of foil ready for the smoker.

Using applewood chips in your hot smoker, add salmon to smoker once the temperature is steady around 150° F. Smoke the salmon for two hours until firm to the touch, remove the salmon and cover lightly with foil, refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Before slicing carefully peel off the skin. Eat as is or add it to some eggs for breakfast.

Hot Smoked Coho Salmon

#3 Roasted Salmon with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce and Blistered Tomatoes

By Julia Mueller, The Roasted Root

Ingredients

Roasted Salmon

1 large Copper River Coho salmon fillet
2 -3 tbs olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp sea salt

Blistered Tomatoes

3 tbs olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 large clove garlic, minced
pinch sea salt
pinch Italian seasoning

Lemon Rosemary Garlic Butter Sauce

3 tbs ghee or unsalted butter
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested
1 tbs lemon juice
pinch sea salt

Instructions

Prepare the salmon

Place the oven on the high broil settling, move a rack to the top of the oven, and lightly oil the bottom of a large casserole dish or baking sheet.

Stir together the Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a small bowl. Place the salmon fillet in the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle the salmon with the seasoning mixture.

Roast the salmon on the top rack (or second to top) for 10-15 minutes, or until fish reaches desired doneness and is crispy on top. For salmon that’s rare on the inside, roast 8 minutes, and for salmon that’s cooked through but still moist cook 10 to 15 minutes depending on how thick the fillet is.

Remove salmon from the oven and allow it to cool 5 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of garlic butter sauce and top with blistered tomatoes (see instructions below).

Prepare the garlic butter sauce

While the fish is roasting, prepare the sauce and tomatoes. Add all of the ingredients for the garlic butter sauce to a small skillet and heat over medium-high. Allow the sauce to come to a full bubble, stirring occasionally, until garlic is very fragrant. Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer while the fish and tomatoes are cooking, stirring occasionally. If you’d like, you can turn this into a brown butter type of situation by cooking the mixture at a higher temperature until it browns.

Prepare the blistered tomatoes

Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high. Once the skillet is hot, carefully add the tomatoes. Allow them to sit, untouched for 2 minutes. Give the skillet a shake and cook another 2 minutes. Give the skillet another shake/stir and cook until tomatoes are blackened and skin is beginning to wild, about another 3 minutes.

Copper River Coho will run through the end of September giving you plenty of time to try out these great Fall recipes.

Roasted Salmon with Lemon Garlic Butter and Blistered Tomatoes

Siren Song of the Copper River

2019-07-08

My name is Iris Fletcher. I was born and raised in Homer, attended University of Alaska Fairbanks to attain my bachelor’s degree in Fisheries, Biology, and Marine Sciences, and briefly lived in Anchorage before moving (technically) back to Homer. I say technically because I currently have remote seasonal jobs on the Copper River and Afognak Island, and travel internationally during my offseason, meaning I’m actually in Homer fairly rarely.

This is my fourth season working for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on the Miles Lake sonar project on the Copper River. Crossing this mighty river on the Million Dollar Bridge each day, watching icebergs from Miles Glacier zoom by on the silty water and feeling the current tug at my legs while moving equipment, I have gained an appreciation for just how powerful this river is. At this site, all the water is still in one channel before splitting off into the braids that form the Copper River Delta shortly after crashing through the rapids in front of Childs Glacier. Here, we count the Sockeye and Chinook salmon as they head up river. The data we collect is used for the in-season management of the commercial fishing fleet that targets these species.

Salmon Crossing Sonar Site

Salmon Hungry Seal on Sonar

Copper River Sockeye Salmon stop eating once they enter fresh water and with their massive journey of hundreds of miles up a swift-moving, cold, debris-filled waterway, Copper River salmon pack on extra fat to have enough energy to make the trip and reproduce at the end. With their rich flavor literally dripping with omega-3s, it’s easy to say that having access to this run of sockeye has increased my level of salmon snobbery beyond that baseline that all Alaskans have.

Copper River salmon are the reason myself and my crewmates are here. They are sometimes cause for inconvenience when the equipment gets bumped out of place and has to be repositioned across the river at 2am on a rainy morning, but they are worth every struggle. Whenever I see a picture or an article about the salmon caught on their return to this river, I get a feeling of satisfaction and pride, knowing I contributed to this wonderful fishery.

Besides being the reason we’re here, the Copper River salmon lead to much of the activity around camp. Count fish, measure fish, go fishing, catch fish, fillet fish, vacuum seal fish, cook fish, freeze fish, clear brush along the campground trails to make going fishing easier, haul snow to fill coolers for our catch before we process it, the list goes on! Currently, I’m designing a knitting pattern inspired by this place, these creatures, and the wonderful yarn colorways of Three Irish Girls in Cordova.

As someone from the Kenai Peninsula I probably shouldn’t say this, but in a side-by-side test performed at my home, a Kenai River sockeye fillet and a Copper River sockeye fillet went head to head after having been processed in exactly the same way, and the Copper River fish was superior.

Even after traveling to 23 countries, having a house to maintain in Homer, and working all over the state, this place keeps calling me back. The Copper River and its salmon have set their hooks in me well, and I wouldn’t have in any other way.

Author Bio

Aspiring fisheries biologist, mildly obsessive knitter, amateur world traveler, Alaskan heart, mind, and soul.

Travel Blog: yoshiswoollyworldtour.wordpress.com
Instagram: @fletchflower

Cooking Copper River Salmon: Easier Than You Think

2019-06-06

It’s Copper River Salmon season! Do you need a brief refresher on how to prepare fresh, wild salmon? Here is your guide to the most popular preparation methods along with some of our suggestions along the way.