The Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) is forecasting a mixed bag for the upcoming Copper River salmon season.
Biologists predict sockeye numbers will be below average, but say the market could see some compensation with a strong Chinook salmon showing. Around 1.4 million sockeye are expected up the Copper River in 2020, well below the 10-year average of over 2.1 million fish, according to a recently released ADF&G report. The total sockeye salmon harvest is forecast at just under one million fish.
Meanwhile, catches of chinook – also known as king salmon – should surpass recent trends, with a predicted 60,000 kings outstripping the 10-year average of 48,000. Biologists put the chinook escapement goal on the Copper River at 24,000, which should leave a harvest of around 36,000 kings, up from 18,400 last year.
Copper River fish run earlier than other Alaskan salmon and typically kick off the season in late May or early June, fetching high prices and often setting the market tone for later runs.
Christa Hoover, the executive director for the Copper River Prince William Sound Marketing Association, said quality through careful handling and chilling is part of the key to success for Copper River salmon.
“One of the things that Copper River is known for is quality, and we’ve kind of been out in front of quality initiatives for years and years. We work with our fishermen on what to do … and I don’t know a single buyer who doesn’t buy chilled fish,” Hoover said.
Hoover added that the forecast does not affect the well-established and successful marketing efforts of Copper River fish. Alone on the early season market, demand usually outstrips supply.
“There’s no point in developing new big markets. Copper River is a small volume fishery and somebody wants every single Copper River salmon that gets caught,” Hoover said. “For us it’s about maintaining relationships and maintaining the prices the fishermen want to get for their product.”
Low Copper River runs can drive prices into the stratosphere, as happened in 2017 when a predicted harvest of just 4,000 kings had them going for up to USD 75 (EUR 68) per pound at Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market.
Conversely, larger catches can bring prices down, like last season when a big sockeye hauls early in the season added up to an affordable market price ranging from USD 12.99 to 15.99 (EUR 11.90 to 14.65) per pound.
Photo courtesy of Troutnut/Shutterstock
