What makes our salmon different from those caught in other waters? Yukon salmon travel great distances from the Bering Sea to their spawning grounds. Many of the King, Fall Keta and Coho travel over 2,000 miles. To sustain them on this rigorous journey, all Yukon Salmon enter the river with extraordinary amounts of oil and fat. Kings have been tested with oil contents as high as 34%, Keta at 14-18% and Coho at 14%. The result is a fish that tastes better and is better for you.

As they have been for centuries, the Yukon River villages are very isolated. Between October and May the river freezes over, making the area accessible only by air. Once the ice melts, boats and barges travel up and down the river bringing supplies to the many residents living in the local villages.

The Yukon Salmon begin their long journey home when the ice melts in late spring. The King and early Keta start in mid-June and last several weeks. August brings the second Keta run along with Coho which last through early September.

Fishing has been the lifeblood of the Lower Yukon since the area was first settled. The Yup'ik Eskimos have inhabited these lands for thousands of years, having crossed the land bridge from eastern Russia. They have fished since the first salmon appeared in the Yukon and have always revered this fish as their most precious resource. The village residents depend on subsistence fishing for their personal use and commercial fishing for badly needed income. Commercial fishing is allowed only after adequate escapement has occurred and village residents have had the opportunity to catch and store enough fish to sustain them through the long winters.

The longer the river, the richer the taste.