The Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Friday said it expected the state’s salmon catch to total 138 million fish this year.
It would be Alaska’s 19th largest salmon harvest since 1960 but would be down from last year’s catch of 161.8 million fish, said the agency. The drop is attributed to lower pink landings of 69.1 million fish, which would be down from 96 million fish in 2009. Pink landings represented nearly 60 percent of last year’s 161.8-million-fish catch.
However, higher sockeye and chinook landings are forecasted. Sockeye landings are expected to reach 45.8 million fish in 2010, which would be up from 43.3 million fish in 2009, while chinook landings are expected to hit 515,000 million fish in 2010, which would be up from 359,000 fish in 2009.
The 2010 sockeye harvest would be the state’s ninth largest since 1960.
Coho and chum landings in 2010 are anticipated to be on par with 2009. Coho landings are expected to total 4.4 million fish this year, which would be up from 4.1 million fish last year, while chum landings are expected to come in at 18 million fish this year, which would be up from 17.9 million fish last year.
The 2010 chum harvest would be the state’s 10th largest since 1960, while the coho harvest would match the 10-year average of 4.4 million fish.
Alaska’s 2009 salmon catch of 161.8 million fish, valued at USD 370.2 million, was the 11th largest in history.
