This July, a commercial fisherman will land the 2 billionth salmon caught in Bristol Bay’s 133-year fishing history – a milestone in what’s looking like a strong season that will likely result in an above forecasted harvest.
Since the inception of Bristol Bay’s canned salmon industry in 1884, its fishermen have landed 1.99 billion salmon, 93 percent of which have been sockeye, and according to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADFG) fishermen will achieve the 2 billion salmon milestone when 2016 total harvest reaches 10,033,455 salmon.
The 1 billionth salmon was caught in June 1978 in the Nushagak River District.
The forecasted Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run for 2016 was approximately 46.6 million fish, with 23.2 million sockeye expected for the Naknek-Kvichak District. Based on the forecast and using the mid-points of escapement goal ranges, 29.5 million fish are potentially available for commercial harvest with a harvest of 11.7 million in Naknek-Kvichak. The commercial salmon season in Bristol Bay opened 1 June.
Current ADFG preliminary in-season estimates for the Bristol Bay harvest put the total salmon catch at more than 36.9 million fish, including 36.2 million sockeye, 678,234 chum, 35,708 pink and 28,896 Chinook salmon. Unofficial figures at the end of last week put the total at 46.9 million fish, just above ADFG’s point estimate.
With a larger harvest and a base price of USD 0.75 (EUR 0.68) per pound, the total ex-vessel value of sockeye is expected to be considerably higher than last year.
Six years ago, the Bristol Bay sockeye fishery averaged USD 150 million (EUR 136.8 million) per year, rising to almost USD 210 million (EUR 191.5 million) in an exceptional 2014, but dropping to USD 92 million (EUR 83.9 million) last year. This year, analysts are expecting the ex-vessel value to return above the USD 150 million average.
