Good News In Bristol Bay: More And Bigger Sockeye; Bad News: Chinook Harvest Tumbles

Some good news and not so good news from Bristol Bay’s haul of sockeye and king salmon. Here are some details from the Anchorage Daily News:

The run of sockeye salmon, also known as red salmon, exceeded preseason expectations and totaled 56.7 million fish, the seventh highest since 2005, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported in its preliminary summary of the summer harvest. The commercial sockeye harvest was also bigger than expected, totaling 41.2 million fish. That was 18% above the preseason forecast and 23% higher than the recent 20-year average.

The total amount of money paid to fishers delivering their catches totaled $215.3 million, about 7% above the 20-year average of $200.7 million, the department said in its summary.

The bad news is that while Bristol Bay sockeye salmon continued what has been a streak of huge runs — and while sockeye dominate the commercial harvest — other salmon species there continued to falter. Bristol Bay’s harvest of chinook, also known as king salmon, hit a 20-year low this year, totaling only 6,148 fish, compared to the most recent 20-year average of 33,469 chinook, the department reported.

The sockeye numbers even topped ADFG’s projection of more than 51 million fish, so that’s significant.