The nasty weather that was threatening to kick up on the Copper River flats never materialized last Monday. It was sloppy and bumpy but fishable. Fishermen returning from the opening day of the 2011 season were tired and astonished after one of the biggest first openers in recent memory -- perhaps among the top five going back 20 years or more.

"There were a lot of guys who caught a lot of fish and at least one guy had probably a $20,000 day," said one local fisherman. "But the really great thing is that most guys out there made real money. A lot of fisherman had a $5,000 day and that's especially important at the start of the season."

As the sun set on Orca Inlet there was much to celebrate. A near sinking on the fishing grounds had been averted thanks to assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard. The docks and tenders in town were jammed with lines of boats waiting to deliver their last load of the day. Prices were rumored to be hovering around $4 a pound for Copper River sockeye, and $6.50 a pound for chinook. Fishermen who bleed, ice and deliver to the dock earn an additional 33 cents a pound on reds and kings.

At the delivery location for Prime Select Seafoods, cranes lifted net bags heavy with fresh Copper River wild salmon onto the dock. Workers recorded the weight of each delivery and then individually hand loaded each fish into iced totes to ensure the premium product associated with the Copper River fisheries.

According to Jeremy Botz, the new gillnet area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, fishermen made 530 deliveries, harvesting 105,000 sockeye, 1,700 chinook and 6,000 chums.

"It was definitely one of the stronger first starts we've had in the fishery," said Botz. "The weather and tides certainly factored into the strong harvest."

Compared with the opening of the 2010 season, the number of deliveries were about the same, however, harvest levels were reported at 7,000 sockeye for the first period and 35,000 sockeye for the second. Botz says that inclement weather, an earlier start date of May 13 and inside closures likely factored into the 2010 starting harvest.

Charging salmon

While returning Copper River salmon typically collect in the area directly adjacent to the mouth of the Copper, known as the flats, running along the rip of the tide and sand bars prior to beginning their run up the Copper, that was not the case this year.

"There were a lot of fish and they were running hard, directly for the river," said one fisherman. "Fish were charging in from the ocean and running hard. They were leaping on beaches as they ran straight ahead."

Along with fishermen and biologists, processors were upbeat about the opening.

"We are excited and it is a nice start to the season compared with last year," said Rick Isaacson of Trident Seafoods. "It's really nice to get some money in the pockets of Cordova fishermen early on."

The impacts of the Japan tsunami have been a source of speculation prior to the 2011 fishing season but Isaacson said the Copper River product is a fresh product for domestic markets and so there is no correlation. Asked how the national economy may play into markets, Isaacson said the quality of the Copper River product is high but fish are just arriving in the Lower 48 and it's too early to know how the product will move through markets.

In speaking with Cordova Times last week, Botz said it was too early to tell how this will bode for the rest of the season. Managers did not anticipate early closures in spite of the enormous harvest.

"It is too early to get an indication of the strength of the run," said Botz. "The sonar counter is up, we are collecting data and leaning towards getting more information to gauge the strength of the run."

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