A banner salmon season

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has tallied the numbers on this year's commercial salmon season, and they are impressive.

Powered by a record pink salmon harvest of 219 million fish, this year's harvest ranks as the second most valuable on record. At $691.1 million, 2013 is only exceeded by the 1988 harvest value of $724 million. In addition to setting a record for pink salmon, the total number of salmon harvested also set a new record at 272 million fish.

Read much more here. And here's a chart with figures by region.

Smaller catch, bigger payoff at Bristol Bay

This year's Bristol Bay catch of nearly 15.4 million sockeye salmon brought $138.4 million ex-vessel, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports.

The previous year's catch was much bigger at almost 20.6 million sockeye, yet the payoff was lower at $117.8 million.

The difference?

Packers paid fishermen a much higher base price this year — $1.50 per pound — versus $1 last year.

It also helped that the average sockeye weighed 6 pounds this season, compared to 5.7 pounds in 2012.

None of the dollar figures quoted here include the various price adjustments and bonuses many fishermen enjoy at Bristol Bay.

Here we go again

Two of Alaska's most valuable commercial fisheries kick off a new season at noon Saturday.

That's when longliners are free to drop their hooks for halibut and sablefish.

The season is long, running to Nov. 7.

Alaska fishermen hold individual quotas totaling 21.8 million pounds of halibut and 28 million pounds of sablefish.

Because the fisheries are no longer managed as derbies, it's rare to see the sinkings and deaths that once were commonplace.

Still, safety is paramount, and the U.S. Coast Guard is urging fishermen to undergo a free vessel safety exam.

Click here for details on how to get your safety decal.

Larger salmon haul expected this year

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is predicting a commercial catch of about 179 million salmon this year, which would be a big jump from last year's harvest of 127 million.

A greater abundance of pink salmon will drive the larger catch, the department says.

See the 2013 forecast here.

Pollock time!

Speaking of pollock, the Bering Sea pollock fishery opens at noon Sunday with a customarily enormous quota of more than 1.2 million metric tons.

The season is divided into two parts, the A season and the B season.

The A season runs from Jan. 20 to June 10 and is the most important for the industry. That's because pollock are fat with lucrative roe during the winter.

The B season runs from June 10 to Nov. 1.

Despite the vast quantity of fish to be harvested, the pollock fleet is relatively small.

A total of 132 vessels — 108 catcher boats, 21 factory trawlers and three motherships — hold federal permits under the American Fisheries Act.

Of course, some of these vessels are among the largest and most powerful in America, if not the world.

Council sets groundfish quotas for 2013

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has set the 2013 total allowable catch (TAC) for Alaska groundfish.

Here are the TACs for key species and the percent change from 2012.

BERING SEA AND ALEUTIAN ISLANDS

Eastern Bering Sea pollock, 1,247,000 tons, up 3.9 percent
Pacific cod, 260,000 tons, down 0.4 percent
Yellowfin sole, 198,000 tons, down 2 percent
Pacific Ocean perch, 35,100 tons, up 42.1 percent
Atka mackerel, 25,920 tons, down 48.9 percent
Sablefish, 3,720 tons, down 13.1 percent

GULF OF ALASKA

Pollock, 121,046 tons, up 4 percent
Pacific cod, 60,600 tons, down 7.8 percent
Pacific Ocean perch, 16,412 tons, down 3 percent
Sablefish, 12,510 tons, down 3.5 percent

The TACs are subject to U.S. commerce secretary approval. For the full slate of numbers, click here.