Giant Eagle Nets Copper River Salmon

SN STAFF

PITTSBURGH — After more than a week of Facebook updates on a Giant Eagle-exclusive fishing expedition, wild Alaska Copper River Salmon has arrived in Giant Eagle stores.

“We're excited to announce the wait is over! Wild, fresh Alaska Copper River Salmon is here!” Giant Eagle wrote on its Facebook page on Friday.

Throughout last week, Giant Eagle posted Facebook comments from master fisherman Buck Gibbons, whom the retailer partnered with to catch the salmon and have it jet-shipped to its stores just hours after harvest.

Gibbon’s Facebook posts addressed everything from weather conditions at sea to the size and quantity of the catch

“While the final numbers aren't tallied, it looks like between 90,000 to 100,000 salmon were harvested yesterday,” Gibbons wrote on May 17. “The fish are averaging about a 1/2 pound larger than normal."

Gibbons is co-founder of the Wildcatch fishing company.