Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Alaska’s Salmon Harvest Exceeds 255 Million Fish

Preliminary statistics compiled by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game put the state’s wild salmon harvest in excess of 255 million fish…and they’re still coming.

Fresh wild coho salmon are taking center stage this week, with silver fillets priced at $9.99 a pound in Southcentral Alaska.

Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market has whole fresh wild cohos available for $69.93 per fish, and fillets for $16.99 a pound, and Snug Harbor Seafoods in Kenai, Alaska, has silver fillets for $14.99.

As fishing continues, fresh fillets, steaks and whole fish of different salmon are also available, as single items and in seafood combo packs, from several online entities.

ADF&G was advising Prince William Sound gillnet fishermen to be sure and assure a market before harvesting fish.

More than 104 million salmon – 98 million of them humpies – have been delivered to processors in Prince William Sound. The catch there also includes nearly 3.1 million sockeyes, 2.5 million chums, 192,000 silvers, and 24,000 kings.

Cook Inlet fishermen have brought in nearly 7 million fish, delivering the processors 3.6 million pinks, 2.8 million reds, 371,000 chum, 216,000 cohos, and 11,000 kings.

The Alaska-Yukon-Kuskokwim region has delivered 1.6 million fish, including more than a million chums, plus 426,000 silvers, 70,000 humpies, 61,000 reds, and 9,000 sockeyes. The Lower Yukon River alone had a catch of 530,000 chums, 120,000 silvers, and 6,000 pinks.

Southeast Alaska harvesters contributed 46.7 million fish to the statewide harvest, including more than 34 million humpies, 9.2 million chums, 1.8 million silvers, 1.4 million sockeyes, and 344,000 kings.

Alaska Peninsula harvesters have in excess of 23 million fish, including over 16 million pinks, 5.7 million reds, 835,000 chums, 310,000 cohos, and 53,000 kings.

Chignik fishermen contributed a harvest of 3.5 million fish, including 1.8 million humpies and 1.5 million reds, plus 95,000 chums, 82,000 silvers, and 9,000 Chinooks. At Kodiak, processors have received nearly 33 million salmon, including more than 29 million humpies. Fishermen also brought in 2.7 million sockeyes, 704,000 chums, 321,000 cohos, and 7,000 kings.

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