Commercial Salmon Harvest in Alaska Climbs to 59M Fish

Alaska’s total statewide commercial salmon harvest stood at 59 million fish as the fishery began winding down at the end of July, but the jury was still out on how the chum and coho harvests in August would boost the overall 2024 catch.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists in April forecast a 2024 commercial harvest of 135.7 million salmon, including 69.0 million pink salmon, 39.5 million sockeye salmon, 24.3 million chum salmon and 2.6 million coho salmon.

As of July 23, the latest estimated ADF&G harvest calculation showed the harvest at 36% of the projected harvest and industry insiders said they were waiting to see what the final harvest of pink and chum salmon in Prince William Sound would be.

As of July 29, the estimated catch of 59 million salmon statewide included 39.2 sockeyes, 9.7 million chum, 9.7 million pink, 205,000 chinook and 191,000 coho salmon.

The state’s central region, which includes Bristol Bay, Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet had the largest overall catch, a total of 44 million salmon, including 36 million sockeye, 6 million pink, 1.7 million chum, 17,000 coho and 8,000 Chinook.

Bristol Bay’s Nushagak District alone brought in over 12 million salmon, mostly sockeye, with the Naknek Kvichak District contributing 9.1 million salmon and the Egegik District 5.1 million reds.

In Southeast Alaska, the 8.6 million commercially caught salmon delivered to processors included 6.9 million chum, 2.6 million pink, 295,000 sockeye, 186,000 Chinook and 89,000 coho, according to ADF&G data.

In The Westward region, including the Kodiak area and Alaska Peninsula and Chignik, processors received 5.1 million fish, including over 3 million sockeye, 984,000 chum, 745,000 pink, 959,000 coho and 11,000 Chinooks.

In the Alaska Peninsula, harvesters caught 3.5 million fish, including 2.3 million sockeye, 539,000 chum, 615,000 pink, 57,000 coho and 8,000 kings, while in Kodiak the catch was 1.3 million fish, including 616,000 red salmon, 413,000 chum, 6,000 coho and 1,000 Chinook.

Processors in Chignik saw deliveries of 326,000 salmon, of which 179,000 were reds, plus 97,000 pink, 26,000 chum, 22,000 coho and 2,000 kings, data show.

Consumers were still seeing a wide range of prices on the fresh fillets of wild Alaska sockeyes, from $19.98 a pound at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle to $12.95 a pound at 10th & M Seafoods in Anchorage. Costco sold out of its Alaska sockeye fillets priced at $10.99 a pound.