Approximately 4.6 million sockeye salmon are expected to return to Alaska's Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) in 2018, delivering a commercial harvest of 1.9 million fish, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) has forecasted. Such a harvest would be 900,000 salmon less than the region’s 20-year average.
In terms of river systems, the run forecast for the Kenai River next year is approximately 2.5 million sockeye, which is 1.1 million less than the 20-year average of 3.6 million. Kasilof River’s sockeye run forecast is 866,000, which is 11 percent below the 20-year average of 971,000. Next year’s sockeye run in Susitna River is forecasted at 329,000 fish, some 18 percent less than the 20-year average, while the Fish Creek run is forecasted at 211,000 sockeye, which would be 276 percent more than the 20-year average run of 76,000.
This year’s commercial harvest of sockeye in UCI totaled 1.8 million fish, which was 100,000 more than the pre-season projection with the overall run 15 percent above forecast at 4.6 million.
In addition to 1.9 million sockeye, UCI is expected to harvest 389,000 pink salmon, 177,000 chum, 203,000 coho and 7,400 kings next year.
