It's a start

The Copper River salmon fishery kicked off a new season on Thursday, with the district producing a modest 27,368 sockeye and 1,083 Chinook on 353 deliveries during a 12-hour opener.

The fishery opened six days later than last season, which saw a surprisingly large opening day haul of around 43,000 sockeye.

The Copper River District will open tomorrow for another 12-hour driftnet fishing period, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced.