This is the final salmon harvest update for 2020. We value feedback as we consider ways to improve the update for the 2021 season.
The 2020 Alaska salmon season represents the third consecutive even-numbered year of relatively weak landings compared to historical averages. Measured by number of fish, this year’s harvest will rank 17th out of the 23 even-numbered years since 1975. This ranking may improve slightly as data are revised and the final landings of the season occur over the next few weeks.
At the statewide level, the 2020 sockeye harvest of 45 million fish is 15% below the 5-year average, on par with the 10 year-average, and nearly 10% ahead of the 20-year average. The multi-year trend of strong Bristol Bay harvest balancing weak sockeye production in other areas of the state continued in 2020. If Bristol Bay is excluded from the statewide total, the 2020 sockeye harvest is the smallest since 1976.
Harvest of nearly 58 million pink salmon this summer lags the 10-year average (including only even-numbered years) by about 25%. While the current season is below longer-term averages, the 2016 and 2018 harvest were exceeded by about 50%. The harvest in Kodiak was surprisingly productive with the area exceeding its preseason forecast by 74% or nine million fish.
The 2020 harvest of about 7.5 million keta is the weakest harvest since 1979 with all regions of the state experiencing disappointing landings. The impact on Southeast and the AYK region is particularly challenging due to the relative importance of the species in regional fisheries.
Although some additional volume is expected in the next three weeks, coho production will have declined to levels last seen in the mid-1970s. Chinook volume for 2020 will end the season well below historical levels.
This weekly email is produced by McDowell Group on behalf of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Please let us know if you would like to be removed from the distribution list. These weekly updates can be found here on the ASMI website.
Thanks,
Garrett Evridge
Economist
McDowell Group
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