Lower forecast is due to a decrease in pinks
The total statewide, all-species salmon harvest for 2022 is projected at 160.6 million fish. That compares to a catch of nearly 235 million salmon in 2021.
That’s according to the annual report just released by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game titled Run Forecasts and Harvest Projections for 2022 Alaska Salmon Fisheries and Review of the 2021 Season .
Pinks expected to decline, sockeyes could set a record
The 2022 commercial salmon forecast is for a record sockeye salmon harvest, mostly from Bristol Bay, and a substantially smaller harvest of pink salmon than occurred in 2021. Commercial harvests of coho and chum salmon are projected to be average.
The breakdown of the 2022 catch is expected to include 310,000 Chinook salmon, 74 million sockeye salmon, 3.6 million coho salmon, 67.2 million pink salmon, and 15.4 million chums.
Compared to 2021 harvests, the projections call for 94.2 million fewer pink salmon, 16.9 million more sockeye salmon, 0.8 million more coho salmon, and 2.2 million more chum salmon.
The Alaska all-species salmon harvest for 2021 totaled nearly 235 million fish. Over half of this harvest was composed of pink salmon (161.4 million fish), followed by sockeye salmon (57.1 million fish).
The preliminary dockside value of the Alaska salmon catch in 2021 was nearly $644 million.
Most of the 2021 pink salmon harvest occurred in Central and Westward regions, and Bristol Bay continued to be the largest sockeye salmon producing region in Alaska.
