The Remarkable Copper River Seafoods
Their families fish Alaska’s pristine waters so that ours can eat delicious, nutritious seafood for generations to come.
Apr 22, 2025
Over the past 20 years, many Americans have made a dramatic shift toward caring about where their food comes from and how its production affects the environment and our health. Farmers markets have blossomed, organic brands flourished, and lean protein has moved to the forefront of our diets.
Up in Alaska, hiding in plain sight, Copper River Seafoods has created a supply system that meets the evolving needs of these consumers. The nearly 30-year-old company works with fishermen to catch and then package wild Alaska halibut, salmon, cod, sablefish, and rockfish, making it easy for the rest of us to gain access to sustainably caught, protein-packed seafood through Vital Choice.
What’s more, Copper River Seafoods works with agencies and organizations, such as the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, to ensure that wild seafood can always be a healthy option on our tables.
“I’m optimistic about the future of all of the fisheries in Alaska,” says Scott Blake, CEO of Copper River Seafoods. “We manage in Alaska from a sustainable resource.” This is important for those who are mindful of where their food comes from. It boils down to this: nutritionally rich wild Alaska seafood is a precious American industry worth protecting.
Why wild seafood matters
In 1996, Copper River Seafoods was started by Blake and other multi-generational fishermen facing an existential challenge: farmed salmon. If Alaska salmon producers wanted to compete, a new consumer-driven approach to quality, handling, and marketing would need to be taken. Blake and his co-founders were up for the challenge.
Proponents of wild Alaska seafood have fought back in recent years. They’ve been noting that Alaska fisheries adhere to strict federal laws, and double down on sustainability, which is even mandated in Alaska's state constitution — the only state with this extra measure — and that the textures and flavor of wild seafood are superior.
Blake banded together with three other fishermen to create a company solely based in Alaska that would preserve not only their livelihoods and communities, but one of nature's great gifts: wild-caught seafood from Alaska.
They developed a model of efficiency, overcoming this challenge to create a company that Blake proudly calls “vertically integrated” — a model centered around strong, long-lasting relationships with community-based fishing families, primary processing facilities located in those communities, and added value manufacturing handled in-house. This gives Copper River Seafoods the advantage of providing wild seafood with a similar efficiency to aquaculture companies creating farmed fish in a controlled environment.
Copper River Seafoods is highly selective about the vessels it partners with to pull its fish out of the icy cold Alaska waters, prioritizing traditional fishing families with experience in multiple fisheries, including salmon, black cod, and other wild seafood from Alaska.
“Whether frozen or fresh, the quality of our product is extremely high,” Blake says.
So, what else sets them apart from other fisheries? Blake explains: “We catch and craft our seafood right here in Alaska — start to finish. That means more local jobs, stronger communities, and premium products that proudly carry the Made in Alaska and Made in USA seal. When you buy from us, you're supporting Alaska every step of the way."
Part of what makes this happen is all the fishermen ensuring that the fish get to their facilities quickly.
Once harvested, Copper River Seafoods’ products are carefully processed and frozen at peak freshness to preserve the full flavor and quality of the Alaska experience. This not only guarantees consistency, it also helps sustain year-round jobs in Alaska. The process supports long-term sustainability, ensures full traceability from boat to plate, and reflects Copper River Seafoods’ commitment to doing things the right way — for Alaska, and for Vital Choice.
Blake, a fourth-generation Alaska fisherman, has fulfilled the vision he had when he started the company to compete against farmed fish companies threatening to dominate the industry with lower prices and other advantages.
In its first year, Copper River Seafoods fished and processed about 30,000 pounds of salmon and halibut. Gradually, word got out in Alaska’s fishing communities, and Copper River Seafoods expanded its primary processing operations to support the many vessels that began working with the young company throughout the state.
Over the years, Copper River Seafoods has grown from the original four vessels to thousands, all owned by individual fishermen and their families. Blake’s twin 25-year-old sons fish for Copper River Seafoods, making them fifth-generation fishermen. And, Blake proudly points out, that the Pete Dahl Slough, part of the Copper River tributary system, is named after his great-great-grandfather.
Blake estimates that the company’s shareholders, whether fishermen or investors, are 85% Alaskan, “which is very rare in this industry,” he notes, adding that many seafood jobs and resources have migrated to the Lower 48 states over the past few decades. Impressively, Copper River Seafoods’ production has grown from that original 30,000 pounds to millions of pounds annually.
How Copper River Seafoods promotes sustainability
As Blake puts it, “We're a food manufacturer, not a seafood processor,” meaning that while they do process seafood, it’s just one step in a journey from Alaska to your table.
“We focus on quality, competitive pricing, sustainability, traceability, food safety, and direct access to the resource, and those six things are critical to long-term success and partnerships in the seafood business” — including the relationship with Vital Choice.
Closer to home, Blake says he’s very optimistic about the future of the seafood business in Alaska, adding that his company is focused on promoting Alaskan jobs, supporting the local communities, and making sure that “the younger generations have a future in the industry as well.”
Less than 30 years, since it began operating, Copper River Seafoods is meeting its goals of providing consumers with some of the best seafood on the market — and helping to prove that wild seafood can be sustainable.
Blake explains that Alaska takes a science-based precautionary approach to managing fisheries that is built to adapt to ecosystem changes.
That’s good news for the fish, the fishermen, and those of us who get to enjoy delicious seafood that is sourced and packaged in responsible ways to ensure that our children and grandchildren will have access to this nutritious resource.
AUTHOR
Richard Martin is a writer, editor, and strategist who specializes in food, drink, and travel. He is the co-founder and editor of Appetito, the new online publication about Italian food and drink, and the co-author of the cookbook series Preserved, from publisher Hardie Grant NA.
