Statewide Salmon Harvest Growing

In just a week, Alaska’s statewide salmon harvest has grown from 4,094,000 fish to 8,430,000 in the nets, including 1.5 million sockeyes harvested in Bristol Bay. Preliminary statistics from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game through June 24 show the Egegik district had delivered some 762,000 reds and about 1,000 kings, while the Naknek-Kvichak district had a catch of 570,000 reds and fishermen in the Ugashik district netted 124,000 reds. Just a week earlier those totals stood at 110,000 salmon for Bristol Bay, with the bulk of the harvest – 95,000 reds – coming from the Egegik district.

In Prince William Sound, the harvest reached 2.7 million fish, including more than one million chums and 18,000 Chinook salmon, up from 1.7 million salmon, including 694,000 chum and 17,000 kings a week earlier. That included some 44,000 reds and 881,000 chums in the Coghill district, and 1.1 million reds, 11,000 chum and 18,000 kings in the Copper River district. That compared with 11,000 reds and 661,000 chum in the Coghill district, and 1,038,000 reds, 11,000 chum and 16,000 kings in Copper River district as of the preliminary June 17 count.

In Southwest Alaska the total salmon harvest has reached 1.6 million fish for the Alaska Peninsula, including over one million reds, 310,000 pinks, 255,000 chum and some 3,000 kings, mostly harvested in the South Peninsula. As of June 17 that harvest was just 712,000 fish, including some 542,000 reds, 126,000 chum, 41,000 pinks and some 3,000 kings.

For Southeast Alaska, the harvest stood at 245,000 salmon of all species, including 132,000 chum, 50,000 kings, 33,000 reds, 20,000 pinks and 11,000 silvers; up from a total of 49,000 salmon of all species, including 542,000 reds, 126,000 chum, 41,000 pinks and 32,000 kings a week earlier.

For the Yukon River, the total harvest stood at 23,000 salmon of all species, including 11,000 chum, 8,000 kings and 4,000 sockeyes. For the previous week, the state showed no harvest. The state has imposed strict conservation measures to assure escapement of Chinook salmon over the Canadian border and subsistence fishing also has been restricted.