North Pacific Salmon catches from Russia, the United States, Canada, Japan and Korea remain high, but are less than in previous years, according to a recent report.
Preliminary data from the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission said commercial salmon catches reported by the five countries reached 850,000 metric tons (or 439.5 million fish) in 2016, slightly less than previous even-numbered years.
Salmon catches tend to be less in even than odd-numbered years because pink salmon are less abundant in even-numbered years, according to the NPAFC.
Pink salmon accounted for the majority of the total commercial catch (41 percent by weight), followed by chum (33 percent), sockeye (21 percent), coho (3 percent), and chinook (1 percent).
“Pink and chum salmon dominate Asian catches. In general, catches remain high and, in 2016, were within the range of catches for recent even-numbered years, NPAFC said in a statement.
The total North Pacific pink salmon catch was 353,200 metric tons, with the majority caught by Russia (75 percent of the total by weight). The chum salmon catch reached 285,200 metric tons, and the largest portion of the catch was shared by Russia and Japan.
Russia accounted for most of the total salmon catch (51 percent) at 439,500 metric tons, followed by the United States (31 percent) at 280,400 metric tons and Alaska at 271,800 metric tons. Japan accounted for 13 percent of the total salmon catch at 111,000 metric tons, Canada accounted for three percent of the catch at 21,500 metric tons, and Korea accounted for less than one percent at 256 metric tons.
Unusually low catches of pink salmon resulted in relatively low total catches of salmon in North America last year.
Hatchery releases of salmon and steelhead from NPAFC member countries reached 5.1 billion fish in 2016, similar to numbers over the last three decades. Hatcheries released nearly two billion fish (38 percent of the total) in the U.S., 1.9 billion fish (37 percent) in Japan, 967 million (19 percent) in Russia, 282 million (6 percent) in Canada, and 22 million (less than 1 percent) in Korea.
