Special Salmon From Alaska Has Diners Salivating

It’s available only a few weeks of the year, but oh what weeks they are.

Every year, around mid-May, Copper River salmon unleash a frenzy of salmon-hungry diners looking to get a piece of the season’s first--and many say finest--wild catch of the season.

The fish, considered the most succulent and flavorful of all salmon, is expected to hit area restaurants and grocery stores Monday. But salmon lovers had better move fast. The best of the catch is around for just three to four weeks.

“It’s got a cachet about it. It lives up to its own billing,” said Tom Douglas, executive chef and owner of three Seattle restaurants--Palace Kitchen, Etta’s Seafood and the Dahlia Lounge--which will serve an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 pounds this season.

“People know it’s the best of the best. It’s in such short supply that it creates its own frenzy,” he said.

People might disagree on its appeal--whether it be its timing, its flavor or its limited run and numbers--but everyone agrees that it is the most coveted salmon around.

“The flavor, the name, the story--a combination of things has made it a popular fish,” said Bill Webber, who has been fishing the Copper River in Cordova, Alaska, for the last 31 years.

Copper River salmon, the first wild salmon of the Alaska season, are caught in the Gulf of Alaska as they make their way back to the 300-mile river each spring.

Because of the long upstream run the fish must make before spawning, they have an unusually high oil content, which fuels them for their trip--and improves their flavor.

The salmon also appeal to health-conscious consumers because of their high levels of Omega-3 fat, an unsaturated fat believed to help fend off heart disease, breast cancer and migraines.