Alaska’s Copper River originates at Copper Glacier on Mount Wrangell, in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. It passes 12 major glaciers, is 300 miles long and drops 3,600 feet through the Alaska wilderness before reaching the Gulf of Alaska.

The unsurpassed quality of wild Copper River salmon is directly related to the length of its native river. The longer it takes the salmon to reach its spawning grounds, the higher its omega oil content and the richer the flavor.

Wild Copper River salmon are born in freshwater streams high in the river’s pristine headwaters, 300 miles north of the Gulf of Alaska. The tiny salmon smolt leave their river of birth to return from their ocean migration four years later. Cordova fishermen harvest robust salmon in their prime before they begin their 200-mile voyage up Alaska’s fifth largest river, insuring salmon that are very fat and very tasty.

There are three primary runs of fish in the Copper River. In May, Copper River kings (Chinooks) and Copper River reds (sockeyes) begin the earliest salmon runs on the Pacific coast of North America. Drawn by the scent of the Copper River’s silty water, the massive kings and smaller reds congregate on the Delta, waiting for strong spring tides to give them a start on their journey home against the river’s current. The king run ends by mid-June, while the reds continue to return well into July. As the red run ends, the silver salmon (coho) run begins in earnest, providing a last feast of summer for the sea lions, seals, eagles, wolves and bears that have grown fat over the previous months on kings and reds.

Chinook: King
Copper River king salmon, also known as Chinook, weigh from 25 to 80 lbs. Mighty fish with legendary endurance, king salmon are rich in healthy Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, which power and insulate them up the cold and swift Copper River. The ocean fish are a beautiful, silvery blue-green. Upon entering the river they turn bright red to dark copper. They run from early May to July.

Sockeye: Red
Weighing 6 to 15 lbs., bright silver-colored ocean sockeyes run upriver from late spring through late summer. Spawning adults turn bright red with green heads. Female salmon dig nests (redds) with their tails and then deposit their eggs. Sockeye fry (fingerlings) emerge from the gravel in spring and quickly move into undisturbed clear-water nursery lakes where they spend one or more years in shallow water feeding on small crustaceans and insects before journeying to the sea.

Coho: Silver
The aggressive Copper coho is the second-largest species of salmon and runs from August through November. Weighing 10-20 lbs., adults school in pools or lakes until ripe, then move to shallow clear waters with clean gravel to spawn. Females protect their nest area while males chase and combat each other occupancy of the same location.

CORDOVA sits on the winding coast of Southcentral Alaska, where the majestic, snow-capped Chugach Mountains meet Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska. Founded centuries ago as a fishing village, Cordova has always relied on Mother Nature’s gifts from the sea.

A world-famous salmon fishery (in addition to herring, halibut, shrimp, crab and many other fisheries) has developed in this tiny village of 2,500. Each May, hundreds of family-owned gillnet fishing boats leave Cordova’s harbor and set out for the wild ocean waters of the Gulf. It is there, near the mouth of the mighty Copper River, that the fishermen set their nets and carefully fish for the famous Copper River salmon.

MANAGED FOR REGENERATION
The Copper River is famous the world over for the health of its salmon runs and the taste of its fish. This is thanks to carefully regulated fisheries that are managed by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game to guarantee salmon numbers large enough to reproduce and replenish the population.

Along the shores of the Copper River, there are sonar stations that count the fish, allowing fisheries managers to determine when and where fishermen will be allowed to set their gillnets.

GILLNET FISHING ON THE COPPER RIVER FLATS – A SELECTIVE AND SAFE METHOD
Copper River salmon are fished by local professionals using a method called gillnet fishing. As practiced in coastal waters in the United States, gillnetting is a selective, environmentally friendly method of providing highest quality fish to consumers.

This method of gillnetting is different from high-seas drift gillnetting, which has attracted negative publicity because of indiscriminate use of non-selective, catch-all nets.

CORDOVA'S GILLNET FLEET
Gillnets used in Cordova’s Copper River fisheries are limited to 900 feet (150 fathoms) in length. Their depth ranges from 20 feet for red salmon to 30 for silver salmon. They are "set" to intercept fish during their normal migrations, either along the shore or as they move in and out. All gillnet fishing takes place at the water's surface and only drift gear is used.

The Cordova gillnet fleet is made up of smaller vessels, generally under 32 feet in length. Gillnetters use hydraulic net reels to set and haul their nets.

SELECTIVE FISHING WITH LITTLE BYCATCH
The size of the mesh in a gillnet, along with the fisherman's intimate knowledge of the behavior of the fish he is seeking, guarantees that bycatch of other species will be minimized. Maximum mesh sizes - which are mandated in the management plans for each species sought - range from 5 inches for red salmon to 6 1/2 inches for silver salmon. Smaller fish generally swim through the mesh. Even when smaller fish or non-targeted species are caught, regular tending of the net by the fishermen ensures that many of them are released alive. This also guarantees that the fish that are retained are in excellent, ocean-fresh condition when they get to the market or table.