Alaska’s commercial wild salmon catch for 2017 had reached 218.9 million fish by the end of week 38, an increase of 2.7 million compared to the total posted in the previous week despite entering the season’s final weeks, according to the latest in-season harvest figures compiled by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G).
The statewide take was originally forecast at 204 million salmon.
In terms of species, the catch so far comprises 52.1 million sockeye, 137.2 million pinks, 24.5 million chum, 4.8 million coho and 248,000 king salmon.
To date, the contribution from the Bristol Bay area has totaled 39.3 million salmon, including almost 37.7 million sockeye, 1.4 million chum, 172,000 coho, 34,000 pinks and 39,000 kings. Nushagak District provided the largest catch with 13.1 million salmon, followed by the Egegik District and the Naknek-Kvichak District and with 11.9 million and 8.2 million salmon respectively.
The Cook Inlet fisheries have supplied almost 4.7 million salmon, including more than 2 million sockeye, 1.9 million pinks, 401,000 chum, 305,000 coho and 8,000 kings. Prince William Sound’s commercial catch so far of 56.1 million salmon has comprised 48.7 million pinks, 5.4 million chum, 1.4 million sockeye, 546,000 coho and 13,000 king salmon.
For the Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim Region, the catch has exceeded 2 million salmon, including almost 1.7 million chum.
In Southeast Alaska, the commercial salmon harvest stands at more than 49 million fish, including 34.3 million pinks, 2.7 million coho, 11.2 million chum, 660,000 sockeye and 169,000 kings. To date, Alaska’s Western region has reported a commercial catch of almost 67.8 million salmon, including 52.2 million pinks, 10.3 million sockeye, 4.5 million chum and 19,000 kings.
According to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), the 2017 Bristol Bay salmon fishing season is one for the history books. The total inshore run was the second-largest in 20 years, and the preliminary value of USD 214 million (EUR 181.1 million) is nearly double the 20-year average (in nominal terms).
Bristol Bay sockeye has averaged 5.5 pounds this year, which is below the long-term average of 5.9 pounds but similar to recent years.
