The kickoff of the Alaska Copper River sockeye salmon fishery season, which occurred this year on 16 May, traditionally triggers a race for both suppliers and retailers to be first to market with fresh offerings.
Austin, Texas, U.S.A.-based Whole Foods Market and Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Legal Sea Foods led the charge in 2024 with big Copper River salmon promotions drawing in shoppers and diners.
Whole Foods, which operates more than 500 locations in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., celebrated the start of the season by featuring Copper River sockeye in promotions across select stores, Whole Foods Principal Category Merchant of Seafood Procurement Jason Hedlund told SeafoodSource.
“In the past few years, we have opened the season in fewer markets – mainly the West Coast, Denver, Chicago, and New York,” Hedlund said.
Hedlund declined to reveal the retailer’s Copper River salmon wholesale costs or retail prices planned for this year, but its current supply of Marine Stewardship Council-certified Copper River sockeye salmon fillets are on sale for USD 19.79 (EUR 18.30) per pound through 4 June for Amazon Prime members and USD 21.99 (EUR 20.30) per pound for non-Prime members.
Hedlund confirmed Copper River salmon is selling at lower wholesale prices than last year across the board.
“I would attribute this to the heavy landings that are in line with the strong preseason forecast and some softer demand, likely due to multiple recent seasons that opened with higher costs,” he said. “We’ve fostered deep, longstanding relationships over many years that have allowed us to get a good share of the catch and at a competitive cost.”
As more fish flow into the market as the season progresses and costs decline, Whole Foods will continue to lower retail prices, Hedlund said.
PPX Hospitality-owned Legal Sea Foods is featuring several special Copper River king salmon dishes with wine pairings at most of its Boston-area locations.
“Each year, during a short window of time starting in May, wild Alaska salmon migrate upstream to the Copper River on an epic journey. These salmon … become a highly seasonal catch, traditionally available to diners along the West Coast,” Legal said in a press release.
After fishers catch the salmon, the fresh fish is brought to the Boston area within 24 to 48 hours through a partnership with Anchorage, Alaska-based Copper River Seafoods, Alaska Air Cargo, and wholesaler North Coast Seafoods, Legal said.
Legal’s Head of Culinary Brian Doyle has prepared a special menu, starting with Copper River king salmon crudo, followed by a cold-smoked salmon appetizer with caviar and basil crème fraîche. The main course features grilled Copper River king salmon with fresh morels, spring peas, and potato.
Other retailers and restaurants are also featuring the first-of-season salmon.
The Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle has listed 5-pound box Copper River sockeye fillets for USD 120 (EUR 111) and Copper River king salmon fillets at USD 85 (EUR 78) per pound on 30 May.
Processors were offering USD 7.00 (EUR 6.50) per pound for Copper River sockeye and USD 16.00 (EUR 14.80) per pound for king salmon during the first 12 hours of the season’s opening, according to The Cordova Times.
This year’s Copper River season has been shaping up nicely, Christa Hoover, the executive director of the Copper River Prince William Sound Marketing Association, told SeafoodSource.
“The fleet has been harvesting nice, beautiful, big sockeye – many upward of 6 pounds,” she said. “Bigger fish look fantastic in the fresh seafood case, are great for the marketplace, and equally great for fishermen’s bottom lines.”
Projections for the 2024 commercial harvest for the Copper River District, located in the Prince William Sound region, total 1.3 million sockeye salmon, 46 percent above the 10-year average of 893,000 fish.
As of 21 May, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Cordova office reported overall catch at 93,851 sockeye, 2,392 Chinook, 2,433 chum, and 64 coho salmon, per The Cordova Times.
Alaska's much larger Bristol Bay salmon season gets underway in mid-June. In May, the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association and the Copper River Prince William Sound Regional Seafood Development Association announced the launch of a collaborative marketing effort, including digital campaigns and social media, along with training for retail partners.
