May 17, 2007

Alaska expects bountiful salmon catches this year

Alaska's salmon fishermen are expecting a good harvest of salmon this year, with the statewide catch expected to be up more than 21 percent from the 2006 season.

Four of the five salmon species harvested in Alaska have risen in prices in recent years but sockeye salmon, which account for up to two-thirds of the total value of the statewide catch, have dropped almost 10 percent.

This is in part due to Japan, its main customer halving demand in recent years, and the fact that there are now bigger catches than ever: in the past 110 years, the harvest in Alaska has exceeded 40 million fish 13 times - three of which occurred in the past three years alone. A similar catch is predicted this year.

Harvests for pink salmon are expected to be large as well as this year is expected to be the more bountiful part of a two year cycle. Harvest in 2005 was the largest ever.