Hi Friends!
I know from your emails that some of you like to SURFACE SKIM, while others prefer a DEEP DIVE—I appreciate you both equally.
Out of respect for your time (and with full awareness that I tend to ramble), I’ve included two versions of the same news: one short and one long.
Thank you, as always, for your support. It means more than you know.
xo Sarah 🐟💕
Fisher(wo)man & Founder
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SURFACE SKIM: THE SHORT OF IT
Our Copper River Salmon fishing season is underway, and yep—we’re out fishing!
We’re doing things a little different this year, so I wanted to give you an update.
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Fresh & frozen seafood is on pause for now—hopefully available late summer, might be 2026.
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It’s not due to a lack of fish, but the reality of how tough it’s become to get our catch from our remote community to your table.
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I’m focusing my energy on long-term solutions: food policy work, a USDA-backed initiative, and stronger market access for small-boat fishers.
The good news? Our award-winning smoked salmonis in-stock and ready-to-ship!
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Shelf-stable, refrigerate after opening- not before
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Made simply, with (3) all-natural ingredients
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Featured on Jeopardy! Masters and a 2024 Good Food Awards winner
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Perfect for no-cook meals, gifting, and even your emergency stash
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Look forward to more variety as our fishing season progresses
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DEEP DIVE: THE LONG OF IT
The 2025 Copper River Salmon season is officially underway—we’ve been out twice already.
In fact, as I write this, just earlier we got back to our homeport dock around 1 a.m. after a pretty gnarly opener. Big swells, gusty wind, and storm clouds so thick they shut out Alaska’s summer twilight. We ended up running home by radar through the inky darkness. It was spooky!!
But really it’s all par for the course—every summer of my life it’s been the same home waters, same boat for the last 19 years, and the same (possibly expanded) love for this wild place.
And yet, with all this “sameness” every season brings its own twists and uncertainties. If you’ve been on this wild ride with me over the years, you’ve witnessed many versions of Copper River Fish Market. We’ve grown and pivoted in real time together—and for that, I am immensely grateful.
With that fluidity in mind, I want to share something that’s been weighing on my heart and difficult to come to a final decision on- despite an immense amount of mental gymnastics on my part.
Many of you have asked:
Are you fishing this year?
When will fresh and just-frozen be available?
Why do you have smoked salmon but not the other options?
So here’s what’s actually happening behind the scenes…
Yes, we’re most definitely out on the boat fishing, and our online store is open for business—but I’m hitting pause on offering our fresh and just-frozen seafood.
I won’t be offering fresh or just-frozen salmon in the early part of our summer season, and it’s a “gosh, I sure hope so” for late summer/ early autumn availability.
This is not a reflection of the abundance or quality of our catch—it’s a result of what it takes to get our catch into your hands, and what supports are desperately needed to build a better way of serving you. A way that we can all feel good about.
The truth is, getting seafood from our remote part of Alaska to you has always been a bit of a dance. For years, I’ve juggled the logistics myself—whether it’s out on the boat fishing, offloading at the dock, overseeing processing and custom cuts, or hand-packing every order.
I’ve hauled 50 lb boxes into the back of my truck and shipped them via air cargo at unreasonable hours—all while staying focused on delivering top-notch quality and a great experience with the seafood you receive.
But it’s gotten harder each year. Market consolidation and an increasingly flawed fulfillment chain have raised the hurdles and costs for anything beyond what I can do with my own two hands. The quality of the services I can access locally continue to decline, even as I pay more for them—and the gap I have to fill myself just keeps getting wider.
These shortcomings have risen to insurmountable heights. Rather than continuing to hop-scotch around obstacles, I've decided to deal with this mighty load of crapola by channeling my energy into big-picture solutions to create long term lasting change.
I’m working in food policy spaces to make sure our needs as independent fishers are heard, and collaborating with policymakers to highlight what’s missing, while also developing a new USDA-backed initiative to support my business and fellow fishers, resulting in a strengthened economic resilience for our nations rural fishing communities.
It’s been slow (at times really frustrating) work, but these efforts are finally starting to gain traction.
This work is dear to my heart as every small-boat fisher is the owner-operator of an independent micro-business.
We take personal risks—on the water and financially—with few safety nets in place when the cost of catching fish exceeds what the shrinking, consolidated commodity market is willing to pay. Locally owned fish buyers are disappearing, and with them, the last footholds of regional resilience.
We as providers of one of the last truly wild food sources not yet privatized or controlled by corporations, have a responsibility to defend this remaining stronghold of an independent food system.
We need to build and strengthen a food web that connects seafood eaters (that’s you) directly to seafood catchers (that’s me)—just as farmers and ranchers offer direct access to the pure, nourishing foods they produce.
That’s what I’m fighting for.
But with the very real time and mental bandwidth limits that come from being only human, these efforts have meant stepping back from some of what I used to be able to juggle as a mighty army of one. Fresh and just-frozen seafood production currently falls into that category.
Even with all that I am undertaking—I am super happy to confirm: yes, you can still enjoy our Smoked Salmon, featured as a clue on Jeopardy! Masters, a 2024 Good Food Awards winner and most recently a finalist for Best of 15 Years! for the 2025 Good Food Awards (winners will be announced at the end of June).
It’s made with our wild-caught Copper River Salmon, crafted with care and deep respect—for a living creature that’s nourished us and the wild place we’ve called home for generations.
The gold foil pouches function like a tinned product, are shelf-stable, and ship easily from here. No dry ice, no delivery drama—just a clean, delicious product that tells the story of this wild and pure place with every bite.
Our ingredients are simple and all-natural—just our own premium-quality catch, salt, sugar, and real alder wood smoke.
It’s a perfect fit for no-cook meals, outdoor gatherings, or thoughtful gifting. With a use-by-date years out, pair it with a bottle of Champagne and some dark chocolate and you’ve got a top-notch emergency stash.
As our fishing season progresses, we’ll be adding more smoked inventory and options, and as to be expected, trying some new things.
I hope you’ll stick with me through this season of recalibration. Your support in the past has meant the world—and I hope when we’re able to bring back our fresh and just-frozen offerings, you’ll be there for that chapter too.
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📦 Smoked Salmon Shipping
Flat Rate, as low as $10.
Or for faster delivery speed select our still affordable $15 option.