First Copper River salmon arrives in Seattle Tuesday morning



CORDOVA, Alaska -- Copper River salmon season began Monday.

Some of the most sought-after fish in the world come from the waters of Alaska's Copper River. And fishing boats headed out to bring in the salmon Monday.

In Cordova, Alaskan biologists use sonar to count this year's salmon run. They divert the fish close to the river's banks to get an accurate count.

"We have a weir (a barrier) to divert fish in front of the sonar on each side, and they pass in front of the sonar," said April Faulkner, with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. "We do 10-minute recordings for each hour and then someone actually sits here and manually counts them."

Alaska Airlines tweeted that its jets will bring this year's first Copper River salmon back to Seattle on Tuesday morning.