The life of a salmon at first glance does not appear terribly interesting, but it is in fact quite remarkable. Salmon begin their lives developing in translucent and circular shaped eggs nestled in freshwater stream and river gravel beds. After about a three month incubation period, the salmon hatch as orphans and begin the art of survival.

During this early developmental stage salmon are called "Alevin". They are approximately one inch long and reside in the gravel nests where they hatched for approximately one month and survive off of the nutrient rich yolk from their egg attached to their underside. When the yolk is fully absorbed by their body, the salmon must venture out from their gravel nests downstream to fend for themselves.

Salmon are called "Fry" after they "leave the nest". During this stage, the salmon's body matures and takes on a more developed fish-like image. This stage is crucial for the salmon's survival as they are small, fending for their own nutrition, and are easy prey to birds, other fish, etc.

After several months in the Fry stage, salmon enter the "Parr" stage of their life. Parr are roughly six inches long and undergo physical changes such as the development of vertical markings on their sides. The Parr stage generally lasts one to three years before the salmon hits "puberty" and makes its way to the ocean.

The "Smolt" stage could be deemed the salmon's puberty. In this stage, young salmon mature into adults losing their vertical markings and turning a silvery hue. Like teenagers, Smolt will group together with other salmon creating a school. They migrate to the estuary where fresh water and salt water blend. Here, they become accustomed to saltwater conditions that they will encounter in their later home, the sea. During this preparatory period, food is readily available and salmon may double or even triple in weight before migrating westward to the Gulf of Alaska or Bering Sea as "adults".

Adult salmon may spend one to four years in the sea. During this time adults grow to their full size, and develop markings distinctive to their species.

Each salmon may swim thousands of miles through the Pacific Ocean before it spawns.  Amazingly, each salmon is able to navigate back to their place of birth to spawn its next generation. Furthermore, they are able to re-adapt to the freshwater conditions. It is this time when salmon are most valued by fishermen because of their accessibility and high fat content due to their long journey back to fresh water from the sea.  No longer eating, salmon sustain themselves from their substantial fat stores required to take them on this life altering journey.

Once salmon reach their birthplace, the female clears a place in the gravel bed with her tail creating a "redd" in which to lay her eggs. Then, the male fertilizes and protects the eggs until both the male and the female die.

Although, all salmon turn a brilliant color of deep red during spawning, the pronounced morphological changes that occur (particularly in the male) are significant. A somewhat debilitating hook shaped growth develops on the upper jaw preventing the mouth from fully closing and sharp canine teeth develop both in the upper and lower jaw. In some species, a hump develops behind the head.

It is obvious that a salmon's life is truly complex, beautiful and highly respectable. For these reasons and their vulnerability during spawning season, well executed salmon management is implemented in the state of Alaska. Environmental and fishing regulations help protect spawning grounds and ensure sizeable amounts of spawning salmon to return to their natal streams. Currently in Alaska, the department of Fish and Game conducts salmon studies and manages over 15,000 salmon streams. In addition, Copper River Seafoods take pride in knowing that all salmon products from their Cordova facility come from a fishery determined to be Well-Managed in accordance with the Principles and Criteria of the Marine Stewardship Council.