The summer harvest season for wild Alaska salmon officially opens May 15. Here is some of the data that processors and buyers should know.
- The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) has forecast a total harvest of 133.1 million fish, with a breakdown of 538,000 king, 33.6 million sockeye, 4.4 million coho, 19.9 million keta, and 74.7 million pink salmon.
- This season follows the largest Alaska salmon harvest on record. The 2013 harvest exceeded the ADFG prediction by 58 percent, largely due to a massive harvest of pink salmon, the most abundant of the five species.
- The summer salmon season kicks off with the arrival of king and sockeye in the Copper River, with other fisheries seeing returns throughout the summer and continuing into September.
- Alaska salmon accounts for over 90 percent of all wild salmon in North America. Like all seafood harvested in the state, Alaska salmon is always wild, natural, and sustainable.
- While most Alaska salmon is harvested during summer openings, Alaska troll-caught king salmon is harvested year round.
- Alaska seafood creates more jobs than any other private sector industry in the state, and over half of those jobs depend on salmon.
- Commercial salmon fishing is a treasured way-of-life handed down through generations, directly employing over 38,000 hard working men and women.
For more information, visit www.alaskaseafood.org.
