The Alaska king salmon season is off to a late start, but it's expected to be a promising one. In early June, king salmon began showing up in the lower Yukon River, about five days behind schedule.
"We usually start getting fish the first, second, third of June. This year, the first actual documented fish was caught on 8 June, and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) caught the first in their test nets at its Emmonak station on 10 June," said one Alaska salmon dealer.
The late run is likely because of late coastal ice breakup. ADF&G does not have sufficient data to make comparisons with previous years, but fishermen are reporting "nice, healthy looking, big fish."
However, other than backing things up a bit and compressing the run, the late arrival shouldn't hurt the season, which is good news due to increased pressure as a result of the limited king salmon fishery in California and Oregon.
The king salmon market is off to a strong start due to the late run, partly because there isn't much in the way of fish currently available. Current prices are considerably higher than last year, ranging from USD 6 to USD 12 a pound for fresh H&G fish, depending on the size, indicating a strong market. Last year's prices reached USD 9.55 for fresh king fillets. However, prices should come down slightly as production increases.
Last year, Alaska's chinook salmon catch totaled 359,000 fish, down from 376,000 fish in 2008 and 571,000 fish in 2007.
