Statewide Commercial Harvest of Alaska Salmon Reaches 75.5M Fish
An updated preliminary estimate of Alaska’s 2024 statewide commercial salmon harvest rose from 59.7 million to 75.5 million fish as of Aug. 12, but still lags behind the Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecast of 135.7 million fish by season’s end.
ADF&G’s forecast for commercial harvesters had included 69 million pink salmon, 39.5 million sockeye salmon, 24.3 million chum salmon, and 2.6 million coho salmon. To date, the count includes 215,000 Chinook, upward of 12 million chum, 455,000 coho, 22.3 million pink and 40.4 million sockeyes.
Through the midpoint of the Alaska commercial salmon season a week ago, Simon Marks of McKinley Research Group, who produces in-season Alaska commercial salmon updates for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, said that about 42% of the preseason projected harvest had been caught, including 99% of the forecasted sockeye salmon. Harvests of pink salmon continued to lag.
A government report released earlier in the 2024 commercial fisheries season had forecast a drop in the overall salmon catch this year. The report said there would be nearly 86 million fewer pink salmon harvested in 2024, with just 69 million in the forecast.
The report also predicted 40 million sockeye, 24 million chum and three million coho salmon would be delivered to processors.
Alaska’s central region continued to lead in harvest totals, with 45.7 million fish, including 8,000 Chinook, 1.8 million chum, 3,400 coho, 7.6 million pink and more than 32 million sockeyes. Central region catches rose to 36.2 million fish, up from 31 million salmon a week ago.
In the westward region, processors have to date seen deliveries of over 10 million fish, up from a total of 5.4 million salmon a week ago, data show. ADF&G said that included 12,000 Chinook, more than1 million chum, 141,00 coho, 5.2 million pink and 3.5 million sockeye salmon.
Deliveries to processors in Southeast Alaska grew to 19.7 million fish, up from 10 million a week ago. That catch included 195,000 kings, 9.3 million chum, 278,000 coho, 9.4 million pink and 581,000 reds.
