Know Your Fisherman

Not all salmon are created equal, and we are excited to be able to able to spread the word about the importance of supporting small-scale, sustainable fisheries that harvest WILD salmon runs.

• • • The wild Alaskan salmon runs in the Copper River Delta and Prince William Sound where we fish are sustainably managed by biologists who open and close the fisheries throughout the season to make sure that the salmon population remains strong year after year while protecting critical habitat.
    • When you buy salmon directly from a fisherman, you are supporting independent, owner-operators who are inherently committed to the long-term health of the resource. The traceable and direct supply chain means that you can always know who, how, where, and when your fish was caught.
    • Choosing wild salmon gives you the opportunity to learn more about this spectacular natural resource and appreciate the cycles of the ocean ecosystem. We love learning about this crazy world of salmon, and we are so excited to be your connection to a wild and sustainable harvest.

   

Why Copper Valley?

Among wild runs, the salmon that return to the Copper River Valley are prized by fisherman and chefs alike. The unique geography of the Copper River watershed has given our salmon an evolutionary advantage over other salmon. This powerful river is fed by ice-cold water from glaciers in the Chugach and Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains. The salmon swimming up river to their birthplace have to exert an enormous amount of energy so they build up fat reserves before entering fresh water at the mouth of the delta. This high fat content means moist, flavorful fish.

The salmon you’ll find in your share is the same fish you’ll find in our freezer. Because we handle each fish that goes into our shares, we can guarantee that they were bled and iced the same we do it for ourselves, our friends, and our family. We pick each fish individually out of the net, bleed it immediately, and place it in a slush of ice and seawater that stays below freezing due to the salt content. We restock our ice from boats that meet us in the ocean so that our fish maintain their “fresh from the sea” taste until they are blast frozen. This rapid freezing process prevents damage at the cellular level in order to maintain flesh firmness and preserve nutrients.