Salmon seiner Credit: ASMI
The past week has been the second biggest for Alaska salmon catches since the sockeye peak in early July.
The statewide catch by yesterday was on its way to 160 million salmon, on a forecast calling for a season total of 190 million fish.
Pink salmon catches were up by 40% year to date, surging by more than 30 million in one week to total nearly 98 million. Prince William Sound led all regions with a harvest pushing 50 million, double the forecast.
At Southeast the pink harvest had topped 26 million and managers predict it could reach 41 million. The preseason forecast called for 28 million pinks.
Kodiak also saw big increases in its humpy harvest with a total catch topping 12 million.
For the first time this summer, chum salmon catches ticked up a bit to over 7.5 million. The chum forecast calls for a total harvest of 15.3 million fish.
Coho catches were ticking upwards to top one million with the peak typically in mid-September.
The statewide king salmon catch remained at 177,000 fish.
Sockeyes were still trickling in with a total catch nearing 53 million. Catches at the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak were above average and even Chignik got a first opener on a better than expected late red run.
At Bristol Bay, a base price of $1.25 a pound on a sockeye harvest of 40.4 million will make the catch worth $231 million to fishermen. That number will be much higher when post-season bonuses and price adjustments are added in.
Our salmon updates come from the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game and McKinley Research Group compiled for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
