Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Lackluster Copper River opener

Seems like we say this every year, but the Copper River salmon fishery is off to a slow start.

In Monday's 12-hour season opener, driftnetters took about 10,900 sockeye, well short of the 17,600 projected, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports.

The fleet also took an estimated 1,100 Chinook.

Fishery participation seemed low, with 359 deliveries reported.

We haven't heard anything about prices, but early season Copper River fish typically pay handsomely.

The Copper River District will open again at 7 a.m. Thursday for a 12-hour fishing period.

1 comment:

Deckboss said...

The sockeye catch improved a bit in the second Copper River opener with 16,500 fish, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports:

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/dcfnewsrelease/1472729898.pdf