Copper River Salmon
Isn't it too late for Copper River salmon?
I used to work in the Salmon canneries in Cordova, Alaska (which the
Copper River runs through). We would work King Salmon (also called
Chinook Salmon) in May and early June, Red Salmon in June, Pink Salmon
(also called "Humpies" because once they go upstream their bodies
change and they develop a big hump on their backs) in late June, July,
and a bit into August, and Silver Salmon (also called Coho salmon)
(into late August and September if my memory serves me correctly (going
back to 1979-1984).
King salmon is one of the best tasting salmons but is expensive. It is
good for making smoked salmon because of it's high oil content. You
could just about say the same thing for red salmon which is also good
smoked and is not quite as expensive as King Salmon. It is usually
sold in what we called "fresh market" as opposed to canned. I think
more of the red salmon comes from Bristol Bay and is caught with small
gill netters. The copper river however does have it's own fleet of
gill netters that bring in lot of "Reds." Pink salmon is usually
caught with big purse seiners that bring in thousands of pounds at a
time. "Pinks" are caught out in the ocean before they swim upstream.
It is delicious and is usually canned.
Hope that helps!
Mike
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