On the morning of May 15th, 32,000 pounds of Copper River salmon arrived at the Seattle-Tacoma airport just after sunrise. Alaska is expected to deliver over 160,000 pounds of the delicacy on eight different flights across the country. Depending on this season’s catch, Alaska Airlines alone would be flying more than 26 million pounds of Copper River salmon this year.

Copper River salmon at the beginning of the fishing season can easily cost over twenty dollars per pound, tapering off a little as the season progresses. So what makes Copper River salmon so tasty and good?

The Copper River is one of the longest and most rugged rivers in Alaska. It cuts through the Chugach mountains and stretches for three hundred miles through glacier-fed waters full of hard charging rapids.

Every May, around the 15th, the first salmon of the season return to the rivers and streams of Alaska. The Copper River salmon is one of the first. Because the Copper River salmon’s journey is so long, their bodies store up extra fats and oils to survive the entire trip. It is this high fat and oil content that make the Copper River salmon so tasty and popular.

The Copper River salmon is a bright silvery salmon with red flesh, a firm texture, and a very rich flavor.

The fat eaten from fish, like salmon, is filled with Omega 3 fatty acids, which are a group of fats necessary for a healthy diet. Some of the health benefits of the Omega 3 fats include: protection against heart disease and stroke, aid in the proper development and functioning of the brain and nervous system, and prevention of arthritis and migraine headaches. Copper River salmon, because of their high oil content, have an even higher amount of Omega 3 than most other salmon.