 November 02, 2005
This season, commercial fishermen harvested 206.1 million salmon, which had an estimated total value of $295.3 million. The harvest was about 26 million fish above the preseason forecast, was the third largest harvest on record, and was well above the most recent 10-year average of 167 million fish. The 2005 statewide harvest marks the third year since 1960 that the number of salmon caught has exceeded 200 million fish. The total exvessel value of the 2005 salmon harvest was $23 million higher than in 2004, and similar to the most recent 10-year average of $294.4 million. Preliminary estimates of the statewide average prices for chinook, coho, pink, and chum salmon are similar to last year's exvessel prices. Sockeye salmon prices increased from $0.60 per pound in 2004 to $0.71 per pound in 2005. Final 2005 prices for all salmon species may be higher after post-season adjustments and end-of-season bonuses are paid to fisherman. Bristol Bay's sockeye salmon harvest of 24.5 million fish was 1.76 million fish lower than last year's harvest, but only slightly below the preseason forecast of 25.6 million fish. The exvessel value of $91.3 million was nearly $15 million more than the 2004 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon value. The statewide Pink salmon harvest of nearly 147 million fish was the largest on record, with an estimated total value of $52.5 million, above the most recent 10-year average of $46.1 million. The Kodiak fishery harvested nearly 30 million pink salmon, about 8.53 million more fish than last year's harvest. Prince William Sound's pink salmon catch of 45.5 million fish was a record harvest. The Norton Sound coho salmon harvest of 85 thousand fish ranks as the fourth best of all time, and the 2005 Norton Sound commercial salmon fishery was a marked improvement over recent years. Details on the numbers and pounds of fish, average fish weight, average price per pound, and exvessel value for each of the salmon species, by area as well as statewide, are available on the ADF&G website. Copies are also available from Mike Plotnick, who can be reached by phone at (907) 465-6133. These estimates are considered preliminary. Some fisheries, such as the salmon troll fishery, are still in progress. Revised estimates will be produced in late spring of 2006, when fish ticket data has been finalized and ADF&G has received final prices from processors' annual reports.
On the Web: Source of News:
Publish A Letter on SitNews Read Letters/Opinions Submit A Letter to the Editor
|