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Record Catch of Bristol Bay Sockeyes in High Retail Demand

20Jul

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Record Catch of Bristol Bay Sockeyes in High Retail Demand

Soaring harvests of Bristol Bay’s famed wild sockeyes salmon run leaped by millions of pounds a week in July, as eager consumers were placing individual orders of up to 30 pounds each, while freezer container supplies ran low. Bristol Bay preliminary commercial harvest data posted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game jumped from nearly 47 million to 57 million fish between July 12 and July 19, while the statewide harvest rose from nearly 69 million to 89 million salmon. Fishermen in the Nushagak District alone caught over two million sockeyes that week, bringing their catch total to nearly 23 million salmon, ADF&G data show. The robust harvest vastly exceeded expectations and the availability of freezer containers. Maritime transport company Alaska Marine Lines notified ...

Alaska Salmon Harvest Swells to 68.8 Million Fish

13Jul

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Alaska Salmon Harvest Swells to 68.8 Million Fish

Commercial harvests of salmon in Alaska jumped from 37.6 million to 68.8 million fish in a week’s time, with the catch in Bristol Bay alone swelling from 26.7 million to 46.8 million fish. Processors were keeping up with deliveries from fishing tenders in a very robust harvest. Fisheries economist Sam Friedman, who produces the in-season commercial salmon updates for McKinley Research Group on behalf of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, said the week that ended July 9 would likely be the peak salmon harvest of the summer. The Bristol Bay sockeye harvest continues to propel statewide harvest totals, with 21 million reds caught last week alone up 36% from the peak week in 2021. Early data on fish size from Bristol Bay show that sockeyes have averaged about 4.9 pounds per fish...

Commercial Salmon Harvest in Alaska Reaches $16.3M Fish

29Jun

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Commercial Salmon Harvest in Alaska Reaches $16.3M Fish

Commercial salmon harvests in Alaska are off to a robust start, with the central and westward regions of the state leading in harvests, putting the preliminary catch figure at upwards of 16 million fish, according to preliminary reports from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. As of Tuesday, June 28, ADF&G reports showed a catch of 16,324,000 salmon, including 13,231,000 sockeyes, two million chums, over one million humpies, 60,000 Chinooks and 2,000 coho salmon. In Bristol Bay alone, harvesters delivered nearly eight million fish through Monday, June 27, data show, including 7.8 million sockeyes 105,000 chums and one-thousand Chinooks. The largest catch came from the Nushagak District, with 3.5 million sockeyes, 105,000 chums and one thousand kings, followed by Egegik...

Demand Remains High for Limited Commercial Catch of Copper River Salmon

1Jun

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Demand Remains High for Limited Commercial Catch of Copper River Salmon

Consumer appetites remain high for limited pounds of Copper River king and sockeye salmon, which are fetching up to $114.95 a pound and $79.95 a pound respectively in some retail markets, data show. Fishmongers at Fred Meyer seafood counters in Anchorage said there was a lot of interest in those fresh Copper River sockeye salmon fillets at $35.95 a pound. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game anticipates the next opener for the Copper River will be Thursday, June 2. To date, ADF&G has cancelled two of five potential openings. ADF&G biologist Jeremy Botz in Cordova said Chinook salmon so far have come in above anticipated numbers and there is now room for optimism for keeping a regular commercial fishing schedule. Veteran Copper River harvester Bill Webber said state f...

Next Copper River Commercial Fishery Opener Planned for May 26

25May

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Next Copper River Commercial Fishery Opener Planned for May 26

In the wake of a moderate first opener and weak second opener of the Copper River commercial salmon fishery, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said ‘no’ to a third 12-hour fishing period, but that the next opener is anticipated for tomorrow Thursday, May 26. ADF&G biologists stationed in Cordova, Alaska, did allow subsistence harvesters a 12-hour fishing period on Monday, May 23, within the Copper River District, while closing waters within the Chinook salmon expanded inside closure area for those harvesters for that period. The biologists issued their decision after the second opener on Thursday, May 19, resulted 416 deliveries of a total of 14,750 fish, including 2,690 kings and 11,705 sockeye salmon. The first opener on May 16 had harvesters making 401 deliveries of 1...

Alaska Legislature Passes Mariculture Enhancement Bill

18May

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Alaska Legislature Passes Mariculture Enhancement Bill

Mariculture enhancement legislation has passed both houses of the Alaska Legislature, lifting the hopes of shellfish researchers for a future in which hatchery production of juvenile king crab would boost stocks to a sustainable commercial level. House Bill 41, sponsored by Rep. Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan, creates a regulatory framework with which the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) can manage shellfish enhancement projects and outlines criteria for the issuance of permits. It sets out stringent safety standards to ensure sustainability and health of existing natural stocks. ADF&G Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang must also make a determination of substantial public benefit before the project can proceed. HB 41 also allows the ADF&G to set the application fee f...

27Apr

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Drop in Overall Alaska Commercial Salmon Harvest in 2022 Forecasted

Run forecasts and harvest projections published this month by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game say that the ADF&G expects a decrease in commercial salmon harvests in 2022. The total commercial salmon harvest of all species is projected at 160.6 million fish, including 310,000 Chinook salmon, a record 74 million sockeye salmon, 3.6 million coho salmon 67.2 million pink salmon and 15.4 million chum salmon. Compared to 2021 commercial harvests those projected 2022 commercial harvests are expected to yield 94.2 million fewer pink salmon, 16.9 million more sockeye salmon, 0.8 million more coho salmon and 2.2 million more chum salmon. The Alaska all-species salmon harvest for 2021 totaled nearly 235.0 million fish, about 44.7 million fish more than the preseason foreca...

20Apr

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State Biologists Brace for Alaska’s Copper River Salmon Opener

Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists for the Copper River District, with a commercial 2022 forecast of 716,000 sockeyes and 211,000 coho salmon, say that they’ll issue their first announcement from the department’s Cordova office between April 30 and May 7. The fishery is expected to open in mid-May. The total Copper River Chinook salmon run forecast of 40,000 fish is below the 10-year (2012-2021) average of 46,000 fish and the commercial harvest is also expected to be below average. The 2022 sockeye salmon harvest forecast is 38% below the same 10-year average of 1.15 million fish. Biologists said that based on the recent poor Chinook and sockeye salmon production, a conservative management approach would be implemented at the start of the season. The conserva...

23Mar

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Kimball, Drobnica Top Picks for NPFMC

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has forwarded to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo four names each for two obligatory seats for the state of Alaska on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, with incumbent Nicole Kimball and Angela Drobnica as his first choices for the two seats. Kimball has worked as a fisheries analyst for the Council, as a federal fisheries coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and is now vice president of Alaska operations with the Pacific Seafood Processors Association. She holds a bachelor’s degree in natural resources management from the University of Maine and a master’s in environmental policy from Tufts University. Drobnica is currently serving as the government affairs and fisheries director for the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Deve...