August 14, 2013 — Alaska salmon catches are poised to blow past the pre-season forecast of 179 million fish due to a plug of pinks that is coming in stronger than expected.
"We are going to be short on sockeyes by five million or so, and we're probably not going to make the chum salmon numbers either. So we'll have to go over with pinks, but at the rate things are going that is entirely possible," said Geron Bruce, deputy director of Fish and Game's Commercial Fisheries division.
As of Friday the total pink salmon catch had surged to nearly 114 million (the forecast was for 118 million pinks, 73 percent higher than last year) – and catches were still coming on strong.
Three regions provide the bulk of Alaska's pink pack: Southeast, Prince William Sound and Kodiak. At Southeast, where 15 million humpies were taken in a single week, the catch had reached 43 million and it's likely to exceed the 54 million forecast.
"The next two weeks are typically the peak, so if catches stay at that level, that's another 30 million pink salmon," Bruce said.
At Prince William Sound, the pink returns were so strong fishermen were put on trip limits due to a lack of tender capacity. Still, they took 10 million pinks in a matter of days and the total PWS catch was approaching 57 fish (the forecast was just over 38 million).