Alaska’s salmon harvest for 2021 is projected to be a big one with total catches producing a haul that could be 61% higher than last year, due mostly to an expected surge of pinks.
Fishery managers are predicting a statewide catch topping 190 million fish compared to 118.3 million in 2020. The break down by species includes 46.6 million sockeye salmon (a 203,000 increase), 3.8 million cohos (1.4 million higher), 15.3 million chum salmon (6.7 million more than last year), 296,000 Chinook (up by 4,000 fish) and 124.2 million pink salmon (a 63.5 million fish increase).
See the breakdowns by region in the AK Dept. of Fish and Game’s Run Forecasts and Harvest Projections for 2021 Alaska Salmon Fisheries and Review of the 2020 Season at the Alaska Fish Catches sidebar.
