Commercial salmon harvests for Prince William Sound were close to topping 43 million fish this week, up some 5 million fish over a week ago.
As of Tuesday, fishers had delivered 36.9 million pink, 4.6 million chum, 1.2 million sockeye, 68,000 coho and 5,000 Chinook salmon to processors, state data showed.
The Prince William Sound general seine district had a total catch of more 32 million fish to date, of which 31 million were humpies.
For the Copper River drift fishery, the season’s harvest stood at 869,000 fish – including 832,000 sockeyes, 23,000 chum, 5,000 Chinook, 5,000 coho and 4,000 pink salmon.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s preliminary statewide commercial salmon harvest surpassed 144 million fish by Aug. 16 and swelled to more than 153 million salmon by Aug. 19, up from 124 million fish a week earlier.
The statewide preliminary sockeye harvest reached 51.7 million, the pink salmon harvest rose from 61 million to 84 million humpies, and the chum harvest from 14.5 million to more than 16 million fish. Coho harvests statewide climbed to1.2 million silvers, up from 888,000 fish, and the Chinook harvest rose from 150,000 to 157,000 kings.
Fisheries economist Simon Marks, who compiles in-season weekly harvest summaries at McKinley Research, said that with 67% of the annual projected catch now caught, harvest volume across all species is consistent with the five-year average.
The pink salmon harvest, while still within the five-year average, has fallen well below 2023 year-to-date totals (-35%). Cook Inlet harvest totals have declined the most from 2023 (-91%), following significant declines from the 2024 season.
Coho harvest totals, however, are outpacing both the 2024 total and the five-year average. The statewide total reached 45% of the annual projection by week 33, with expectations of continued harvest through week 36.
The statewide keta harvest is 19% above the 2024 numbers – aided by a 207% increase in Prince William Sound, which is currently offsetting a 17% decline in Southeast harvest, Marks said.
Bristol Bay harvesters have delivered more than 41 million salmon to processors, of which 40.8 million were red salmon.
Cook Inlet fishers have delivered 4.6 million fish, of which more than 4 million were sockeyes.
In the state’s westward region, Kodiak area fishers have delivered more than 22 million fish, including 20 million pink and 1.3 million sockeyes.
Harvesters in the Alaska Peninsula have caught nearly 13 million salmon, including 8.6 million pink, 2.8 million sockeyes, and 1.6 million chum, plus 211,000 coho and 14,000 kings. For Chignik, the catch as of Tuesday was 2.2 million salmon, including 1.2 million humpies and 814,000 reds.
Market prices are still relatively high, with Costco warehouses in Anchorage boosting the sockeye fillet price per pound back up to $12.99 a pound, from $9.99 a pound. Sockeye fillets were also selling for $14.99 a pound at Carrs-Safeway, and $12.99 a pound at Fred Meyer seafood shops. New Sagaya seafood counters had no red salmon earlier this week, but they were offering silver salmon fillets for $13.99 a pound and whole cohos for $7.99 a pound.
At the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, coho fillets were selling for $24.99 a pound and whole five-pound silvers went for $85.99 apiece.
