Copper River king salmon, often called the “wagyu of salmon,” can cost up to $265. per kilogram.
The retail price of this salmon can be $1,500-2,000.
– says Kyle Lee, founder of Alaskan Salmon Company.
That's six times more than other wild salmon and ten times more than farmed salmon. This salmon is extremely rare.
For fishermen in Cordova, Alaska, that means spending entire days in dangerous waters, using life-threatening equipment and spending thousands of dollars on permits, all with the serious risk of returning to port empty-handed.
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The price is like luxury meat, the catch is like roulette. The Alaska salmon phenomenon
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Business Insider
Is Copper River King Salmon worth the effort? And why is it so expensive?
King salmon, also called black salmon, is one of five species of wild Pacific salmon swimming in Alaskan waters.
Copper River king salmon is the largest and most nutritious of them all.
—The Copper River salmon has an extremely intense deep red color. You can immediately see that it is salmon from this river. It has an amazing, buttery flavor, says Kyle.
Kyle and his crew depart the port of Cordova early in the morning. It will take them two hours to reach the Copper River Delta. King salmon only stay in the Copper River Delta for three to six weeks.
This is the first wild salmon of the season. And the beginning of the season is unpredictable. Although it usually falls around mid-May, fishermen only find out about it the day before they start fishing.
—We usually have very little time for fishing. It is very important for me to make quick decisions, says the fisherman.
The unpredictable result of each catch not only affects the price of each fish caught, but also increases emotions.
Choosing a fishing spot is the first challenge for Kyle and his crew. The river delta is very large and there are not many salmon in it. That's why fishermen like Kyle have to take their boats out into shallow waters.
— Fishing for king salmon from the Copper River is extremely dangerous because the fish like to stay in shallow water. And when you fish in this area, you are much more exposed to the forces of nature. The waves are huge. They crash above you and the boat can easily capsize. We're about to weigh anchor and start fishing, says Kyle.
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Special nets are needed to catch these salmon
When anchored, the chances of catching anything are slim. King salmon make up only a small percentage of salmon in the Copper River.
90 percent is a species of salmon called sockeye. This makes Kyle's job extremely difficult. In addition, local regulations require him to use special nets called gillnets. They are hung vertically to catch fish by the gills.
Fishing with gillnets is an extremely effective way of catching these fish because each net is handmade and tailored to our needs. For Copper River king salmon, we use much larger meshes, approximately 15 cm in diameter, so that smaller fish can swim through them. King salmon, however, fits perfectly into our network
says Kyle.
— King salmon are really big fish and don't often get stuck in the net. Usually it just wraps itself around itself. Therefore, it is necessary to have a landing net to catch it in case the fish gets out of it. This is the first king salmon today, I was very excited, I held the net under him and he started to come out over the bow roller. I tried to reach forward to pull it out, but it popped out. I held the landing net with only one hand and it was very big, it overcame me and swam out of the net, he adds.
The same characteristics that make gillnets an effective way to catch king salmon also make them dangerous to use.
— The use of gillnets involves many risks and dangers, especially for the crew, as we use hydraulic equipment to release the nets into the water. The nets are often in the air, so shoelaces or sweater strings can get caught on them, explains Kyle.
King salmon are difficult to catch in Alaska
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Fishing failures are common in the Copper River
Even after a full day on the boat, chances are good that Kyle will return empty-handed. This makes the fish he catches even more valuable.
“We just caught this monster, a Copper River king salmon. It probably weighs around 14-16 kg. Its retail price may be $1,500-2,000. And for size comparison, here's a Copper River kidney. She has darker lips. And on the back you can see spots along the lateral line, as well as a nice silver color with spots on the tail. This specimen probably weighs 10 kg. This is a very beautiful, very fatty Copper River king salmon. I'm very happy that we caught the first one. The day is just beginning and we can't wait to catch more, the fisherman rejoices.
The enormous size of the Copper River king salmon is due to its migration. Wild salmon are born in freshwater streams like the Copper River and then migrate to the ocean as juveniles. After spending most of their lives in the sea, they return to their home to spawn.
For king salmon returning to the Copper River, this means making a 480km journey against a 11km per hour current, swimming between glaciers and overcoming a kilometer of sheer elevation.
Copper River salmon have the most intense migration route of any salmon in the world. This long journey home has a huge impact on its taste.
The moment a salmon enters the fresh water of the Copper River from the ocean, its body automatically goes into reproductive mode. Until the day it enters fresh water, it simply feeds and stores fat to make its 480 km long journey.
In 2022, 39,000 returned to the Copper River. salmon, i.e. by 13%. less than the average from the previous 10 years, which was 46,000. Fishermen can only catch less than half of these fish to provide enough salmon for future generations.
Kyle can only go fishing once enough salmon have left the fishery and started moving up the Copper River. The catch limit is different each day. It can be reached at any time. And when this happens, Kyle must immediately stop fishing and return to port.
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How much does king salmon cost?
Still, he needs to catch enough fish to sustain his business. And fishing the Copper River comes at a high cost.
— If I came back empty-handed, it would cost me between $300 and $600. for fuel and probably some of my pride,” says Kyle.
In the case of a company like Kyle's, fuel costs during the season can amount to as much as PLN 12,000. dollars, but it is still much less than the cost of a permit for commercial fishing in these waters, which is PLN 250,000. hole.
When I started commercial fishing, I didn't keep any fish for myself because I had gone into so much debt to buy the license that I couldn't afford it
– says.
Once Kyle returns to port, the fish must be filleted and packaged as quickly as possible to preserve their nutritional value.
— It takes us about a week to deliver salmon to consumers. Once back in port, we fillet the fish, divide it into portions, vacuum pack it and freeze it for at least three days, making the fish suitable for eating in sushi. They are considered sushi-class fish. They are so greasy and oily that it is difficult to hold them in your hand. They keep slipping, he explains.
Kyle sells his king salmon to high-end restaurants and sushi restaurants, but also directly to customers across the country.
Shipping from Alaska can be very expensive due to its remote location. It costs him $65 to ship a 2.3-kilogram box of salmon from Cordova to New York.
Due to increased demand, the price of king salmon has slowly increased in recent years. In 2022, a kilogram of Copper River king salmon cost between $220 and $265.
Larger fish sell for a higher price, but huge king salmon are becoming harder to come by. A 2020 study found that salmon in Alaska have become smaller over the past 60 years, especially king salmon.
Since 1960, king salmon have lost 8%. body length. Streams are warming earlier in the year and salmon are migrating at a younger age and in smaller sizes.
In addition, there is competition with other fish populations caused by farms that release bred fish into the sea.
In the long term, the decline in size affects the salmon's commercial value, nutrient transport, spawn production and, especially in the case of king salmon, reduces supply to rural communities.
Salmon and seafood in Alaska is more than just a job. They are deeply rooted in our traditions. In Alaska, we have many rural communities that rely on wild salmon as their only source of protein. Some of them don't have access to grocery stores, so it's really important that the salmon goes to them
Kyle explains.
