Salmon notes

• The statewide harvest of all salmon species now tops 180 million fish. But the industry isn't likely to reach the preseason forecast of 215 million, largely because pink salmon catches have been disappointing. State forecasters predicted a catch of 138 million pinks, but the tally here at season's end is only about 110 million. Two of the state's main pink-producing zones — Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska — are finishing well below forecast, while Kodiak's catch is said to be above average.

• The current run size estimate for Fraser River sockeye is 9.3 million fish, three times the preseason forecast. But catches by all user groups remain conservative, totaling just over 1.1 million, according to the latest Fraser River Panel weekly report.

Southeast pink salmon forecast

The Southeast Alaska pink salmon harvest in 2025 is predicted to be in the "average" range at 29 million fish.

More details in this advisory announcement.

A gruesome year for Prince William Sound seiners

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game today released its summary of the Prince William Sound salmon season, and many of the results are ugly.

"The 2024 season marked the worst pink salmon harvest since 1993 and the second-worst since the late 1970s when PWS hatcheries were established," the department said.

Total pink salmon harvest was 9.95 million fish, including a commercial catch of 5.07 million and 4.88 million taken for hatchery cost recovery and broodstock.

Hatchery pink salmon run failures punished purse seiners. Average permit earnings were $42,500 compared to a 10-year average of $203,000.

The 205 seine permit holders reporting at least one delivery was the lowest number since 2011.

"The last delivery was reported on Aug. 15, at least two weeks earlier than expected," the department said.

Please help?

As expected, this season's pink salmon bust is beginning to spawn calls for assistance.

State Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, chair of the House Special Committee on Fisheries, has sent a letter asking the governor to seek federal fishery disaster relief for Prince William Sound and other areas.

Salmon notes

Here's an update on the 2024 season, which is all but done.

• This will finish as a poor season, at least in terms of harvest volume. The statewide, all-species catch stands at 96.2 million fish. The season likely will finish with a harvest under 100 million for the first time in 37 years, since 1987, when the tally was 96.5 million.

• The Prince William Sound purse seine fishery closes today, perhaps appropriately on Friday the 13th. It's been a nightmare year for seiners with a catch of less than 5 million pink salmon, far below forecast. Expect pleas for disaster relief coming out of Cordova.

• Alaska never has produced many salmon north of the Arctic Circle, but this season's production was particularly paltry at Kotzebue. "The 2024 commercial harvest of 5,392 chum salmon was below the 1962-2023 average harvest of 231,196 chum salmon and the poorest harvest since the state started managing the Kotzebue District in 1962," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports.

• It wasn't gloomy everywhere this season. On Aug. 12, OBI Seafoods blew the cannery steam whistle in Petersburg to mark 100,000 cases of canned salmon produced.

Salmon notes

Here are a couple of items of interest from the salmon season so far.

• The industry has notched a productive season in Bristol Bay. The total catch stands at 30.8 million sockeye, well above the preseason forecast of 25 million. The fish, however, reportedly are quite small this year. Deckboss remains in the dark on prices. Evidently they were good, as we've heard no bellyaching from fishermen.

• The Prince William Sound seine fishery is struggling. The common property pink salmon harvest through July 26 was "very poor" at 3.9 million fish, or 68 percent below the even-year average for 2004-22, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports.

'Average' pink salmon harvest predicted

Details in this advisory announcement.

3,840 cases of pink salmon for Ukraine

A large donation of canned pink salmon has arrived in war-torn Ukraine, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute reports. Read about it here.

'Weak' forecast for Southeast Alaska pink salmon

Here's the announcement.

A pink plague on the Emerald Isle?

Here's a very interesting article out of Ireland regarding the spread of Pacific pink salmon.

'Weak' forecast for Southeast Alaska pink salmon

Details here.

Southeast pink salmon outlook

An "average" pink salmon harvest of 28 million fish is forecast for Southeast Alaska next year.

Southeast pink salmon outlook

Southeast Alaska can expect an "average" harvest of 23 million pink salmon in 2018, says this forecast just out from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Feds declare disaster for pink salmon fisheries

Here's the press release.

Strong outlook for Southeast pink salmon

The state is forecasting a strong harvest of 43 million pink salmon next year in Southeast Alaska.

That would be a big rebound from this year's poor catch of 18.3 million pinks in Southeast.

Does poor pink season constitute a disaster?

While fishing continues, it's evident the 2016 pink salmon season is a bust.

The statewide commercial catch stands at about 36 million fish, far short of the 90 million forecast.

The harvest is so poor that state Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, wants Gov. Bill Walker to declare a disaster, which could lead to some sort of relief for the industry.

Stutes further suggests giving fishermen a break on making their state loan payments this year.

Kodiak fisheries reporter Laine Welch has more details here.

Stutes chairs the House Special Committee on Fisheries.

In a letter to Stutes, the Walker administration says it's prepared to work with fishermen on loan restructuring or other assistance.

Disaster relief and loan forbearance is bound to hold some popular appeal. That could benefit Stutes, who is seeking re-election this year.

Her challengers include Kodiak independent Duncan Fields, who has fished salmon commercially and served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Government already is doing much to aid the Alaska salmon industry. In late July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it had purchased nearly $10 million in canned pink salmon for child nutrition and other food assistance programs.

USDA stocks up on pink salmon

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the purchase of $5.3 million worth of canned pink salmon for child nutrition and other domestic food assistance programs.

Processors making sales include Ocean Beauty, Peter Pan and Trident.

Here's a purchase summary with more details.

Here's your Southeast Alaska pink salmon forecast

The state is predicting a harvest of 34 million pink salmon next year in Southeast Alaska.

"An actual harvest of 34 million pink salmon would be below the recent 10-year average of 38 million pink salmon," the Department of Fish and Game said in this news release.

'Excellent' pink harvest predicted for Southeast

The state is forecasting an "excellent" harvest of 58 million pink salmon next year in Southeast Alaska.

A harvest of that size would be well above the recent 10-year average of 41 million pinks, and would rank among the top 10 harvests since 1960, the Department of Fish and Game says.

Read the forecast here.

USDA agrees to take Alaska pink salmon

Gov. Sean Parnell just announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted his request to buy surplus canned Alaska pink salmon.

"The purchase of Alaska's canned salmon achieves several goals: It corrects the inventory surplus, helps Alaska's fishing families, and provides high-quality nutrition for food and assistance programs," Parnell said. "Alaska's bounty of pink salmon will provide delicious and nourishing meals for hundreds of thousands of American families. I appreciate the effort of Sen. Lisa Murkowski to make this purchase possible, which will benefit Alaska's families."