June 8, 2017 — The Alaskan Peninsula extends from the mainland toward the southwest between the waters of Bristol Bay and Kodiak. There are several commercial fisheries included along its shores and in the archipelagos to the west. If the averages of the past five years stay consistent, these districts could collectively harvest more than 20.6 million salmon this 2017 season.
The South Alaska Peninsula district is expected to carry the lion’s share of this catch. While there is no formal forecast for sockeye, area biologists predict a South Pen pink run ranging up to 15.6 million fish, with a pink harvest projected at 12.4 million.
“It’s a decent year,” said area management biologist Lisa Fox—the outlook being far better than last year’s pink harvest, which was part of a statewide bust. However, pink runs during odd years are generally measured against other odd years. “It’s not going to be as strong as that 2015 year,” said Fox.
ADF&G is projecting a South Pen sockeye harvest of 2.26 million, which is based on the recent five year average. There are three sockeye systems with escapement goals in the South Pen: biologists hope to see 15,000 to 20,000 sockeye in Orzinski Lake, 14,000 to 28,000 in Thin Point, and 3,200 to 6,400 in Mortensen Lagoon.
The Chignik sockeye fishery is on the south side of the Peninsula, just west of Kodiak. Chignik’s sockeye forecast is down from last year, but close to the district’s ten year average. Biologists in the region are forecasting a total run of more than 2 million fish, with an expected commercial harvest of 1.2 million.