This year’s first commercial Copper River salmon opener was on Thursday, May 17. By Friday, May 18, those in Seattle received their first Copper River salmon of the season, sparking excitement, tradition and signaling the start of summer.
Keep checking back with us for more photos and a story from Seattle’s Pike Place Market, Alaska Airlines’ annual Copper Chef Cook-Off and more!
2018 Copper River salmon opener
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Trident's Vic Scheibert, center, holds a 31-pound Copper River king salmon while members of the media take photographs on the tarmac at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Members of the media gather at the tarmac to see the arrival of the first Copper River salmon at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Executive Chef at WildFin American Grill, Chris Bryant, finishes presenting his Copper River salmon dish during Alaska Airlines' ninth annual Copper Chef Cook-Off at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Copper River king salmon is platted for Alaska Airlines' ninth annual Copper Chef Cook-Off at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Zach Swingle, left, talks with customers about Copper River salmon prices at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle on Saturday, May 19, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Copper River king salmon rest on ice at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, WA on Saturday, May 19, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Copper River king salmon fillets were sold for $69.99 per pound at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle on Sunday, May 20, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
A Copper River king salmon gets filleted at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle on Sunday, May 20, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Sous Chef Kelsey Carter holds a plate of fresh Copper River salmon at Lark, a restaurant in Seattle, on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Avery Hardin, left, and Ashley Hardin eat Copper River salmon tartare at Lark, a restaurant in Seattle, on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Copper River salmon tartare was served on the menu at Lark, a restaurant in Seattle, after the arrival of the first Copper River salmon on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Erika Karplus dines on Copper River salmon at Lark, a restaurant in Seattle, hours after the first fish arrived in Seattle on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Members of the media surround the table where Trident's Jim Lagucik fillets the first Copper River king salmon on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Paul Duncan, Executive Chef at Ray's Boathouse & Cafe, prepares Copper River king salmon during Alaska Airlines' Copper Chef Cook-Off at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Fresh Copper River king salmon rest on a grill during Alaska Airlines' Copper Chef Cook-Off at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Sous Chef Kelsey Carter holds a plate of fresh Copper River salmon at Lark, a restaurant in Seattle, on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Washington resident Andrew Broders puts his net on the reel in preparation of the first commercial Copper River salmon opener in Cordova, AK on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Kelsey Opstad, left, and London Novak make last minute repairs on F/V China Cat the day before the first commercial Copper River salmon opener on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Mark Hazeltine guides the net as it is reeled onto the F/V Selki the day before the first commercial Copper River salmon opener on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Bowpickers head to the Copper River flats the night before the first commercial Copper River salmon opener on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
People walk the docks and get ready for the first commercial Copper River salmon opener in Cordova, AK on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
People carry equipment to their bowpickers the day before the first commercial Copper River salmon opener in Cordova, AK on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
London Novak works on last minute repairs and tasks on the F/V China Cat on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Phyllis Shirron, aboard the F/V Ilo, strings corks onto the corkline on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Bowpickers head out to the Copper River Delta for the first commercial Copper River salmon opener on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times
A man carries equipment and snacks to the dock in Cordova, AK the day before the first commercial Copper River salmon opener on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
People walk the docks and get ready for the first commercial Copper River salmon opener in Cordova, AK on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Bowpickers head to the Copper River flats the night before the first commercial Copper River salmon opener on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
A cargo jet carrying the first Copper River salmon to Seattle arrives at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
A pilot holds up a 31-pound Copper River king salmon after it arrived at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Trident's Vic Scheibert kisses a Copper River king salmon while being interviewed by media on the tarmac at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Trident Seafoods' Vic Scheibert, center, holds a 31-pound Copper River king salmon after the first Copper River salmon arrived in Seattle on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
Trident Seafoods' Jim Lagucik fillets the Copper River king salmon for Alaska Airlines' ninth annual Copper Chef Cook-Off at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday, May 18, 2018. (Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times)
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