Food blogger and health and wellness journalist Carina Wolff of Kale Me Maybe was handpicked for a rousing trip to the Copper River and Prince William Sound fishery, where she connected with fellow food bloggers and learned about fisheries management and sustainable practices. For Carina, salmon has always been a staple in her diet, rooted in her family’s commitment to healthy eating. During her visit, she discovered the strong bond between the community in Cordova and the salmon they catch. She was struck by the collective effort that goes into preserving the salmon population and ensuring the environment’s health. This experience deepened her appreciation for the quality of the fish she enjoys back home in California, emphasizing the variety of people involved in bringing this wonderful food to our plates. 

Carina was inspired by the love and care that surrounded the fishing process. She noted the joy that local community members have for salmon and how they creatively incorporate it into their meals. This connection to her food resonates with her audience, who share her values of making mealtime enjoyable and nourishing. Carina described the taste and texture of freshly caught Copper River salmon as "amazing—fresh, tender, and perfectly balanced in flavor". Grateful for the opportunity to experience the intimate side of our community, she left with a new perspective on wild salmon, and an understanding of the hard work that goes into every bite. 

JJ: What is your relationship with salmon? 

Carina: Salmon is a food that has been in my life for a very long time. I grew up eating it, my family would cook it, my mom and my grandma are both really into healthy eating so it was part of our diet growing up. As I got older and started cooking it for myself, I started to have a lot of fun with salmon and incorporated it into my routine of eating and got a lot more experimental. Aside from just the health aspect of it, I really love the taste and versatility of it. Salmon is part of the regular routine of meals that I make. 

JJ: What was the most surprising thing you learned about Prince William Sound/Copper River Salmon during your visit to Cordova? 

Carina: For one, just how involved the whole entire community is. When you think of fishing you usually only think of the fishermen, and there's just so many more layers to it. It gave me such a bigger appreciation for my food and for salmon. Just the fact that I am so lucky to live in California and I can get this amazing Alaska salmon thanks to such a huge community of people. The other thing that was surprising to me was how much care goes into maintaining and preserving the population. I thought it was really awesome to learn about how that’s done and how important it is for not only preserving the business but for preserving the environment. It makes me feel more connected to the food and more appreciative because there are people making huge decisions that affect not just what I’m eating, but the well-being of our planet and I love that. 

JJ: What inspired you the most about the tour and could you incorporate this inspiration into your content and recipes? 

Carina: Yeah, I mean, seeing the love and care that goes into each step–from preparing for the fishing season, to catching the fish, then to the community consuming the fish–you can feel the appreciation for salmon. I remember I asked someone, I don’t know if it was you or whoever, but I said “do you guys ever get sick of eating salmon” and everyone was like noooooo! [laughs] Everyone has this appreciation and love and care that goes into the food and I think that comes from knowing the work that goes into it. Seeing the ways that people are so creative with how they preserve the salmon, prepare it for the people that they love, how they snack on it, like, just all the different ways they utilize the food to fit a specific scenario or to even just make it the most exciting most nourishing think they’ve ever eaten, I love seeing that kind of care go into food because that’s how I approach food. For me, since its nourishment that we need to stay alive and we need to eat three times a day, I want those three times a day to be fun and to make me feel happy. Since we have to do it, why not make it something that makes us feel really good? I really felt that [in Cordova] while watching people prepare salmon. I think that’s what’s really inspired me with cooking. Looking at this piece of food and thinking to myself “wow, I really need to appreciate where this came from and give it my all and eat it with joy because so much work went into it. 

JJ: How do you think your audience will benefit from the insights and experiences you gained during your trip? 

Carina: I’ve crafted an audience of people through what I am sharing, and I think they share a lot of my values; I think the people who follow me also care about making food fun. The healthy and nourishing parts are just built into salmon anyway so that’s [laughs] kinda easy. It’s about the experience of making the meal feel important, good and satisfying. A part of that is also knowing where your food comes from. I think that’s something that my audience does care about–eating high quality, nutritious, fresh food that is good for us, good for the planet. So I think on a very basic level my audience comes to me for recipes and they know that those values will be there no matter what. 

JJ: How would you describe the taste and texture of freshly caught Prince William Sound/Copper River salmon to your followers?

Carina: Amaaaaazing. [laughs] The first things that come to mind are obviously fresh, but also mild and palatable. Very tender, flaky and soft and flavor without intensity in either direction. It’s like that perfect middle ground of what you want a fish to taste like without that overpowering fishiness, or without being bland; it’s really like that sweet spot. 

JJ: Any last thoughts? 

Carina: Just that I’m very grateful to be included in this opportunity. I think that the uniqueness of the experience was so cool for me because I love to travel, but to be welcomed into a community and get to see the intimate side of how a community is run is just so special. The fact that it’s related to food and to what I love doing made it such a unique experience. It was energizing in a way that is different from normal trips.

A day of learning and exploring during the 2024 Copper River/Prince William Sound Summer Salmon Camp Tour. Left to Right: Jazz Leaf, Diane Morrisey, Jamie Preuss, Carina Wolff