The value of salmon caught by gillnetters in the Lynn Canal rebounded this year from a major 2015 drop.
In 2014, gillnetters in the north and central Lynn Canal caught $10.7 million worth of fish – an amount that nose-dived to $4.5 million in 2015. But the 2016 figure jumped back up to roughly $6 million, said Mark Sogge, a commercial fisheries biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
The total salmon harvest was roughly 1.224 million, compared to 1.618 million in 2015.
Here is a 2016 breakdown by species.
Sockeye – 186,000 were harvested, compared to 132,000 in 2015. The average annual harvest over 10 years has been 135,000. This year, sockeye went for $1.47 a pound, up from $1.19 per pound in 2015.
Coho – 30,000 were harvested. The paper did not obtain a 2015 coho harvest figure. The average annual harvest over 10 years is 42,000. This year, coho went for $1.26 a pound, compared to 75 cents a pound in 2015.
Pink – 80,000 were harvested, compared to 626,000 pinks in 2015. Pink harvests are cyclical, alternating from huge in odd-numbered years to low in even-numbered years. The average annual pink harvest over 10 years has been 225,000. This year’s price was 24 cents a pound, compared to 18 cents per pound in 2015.
Chum – 928,000 were harvested. The paper did not obtain a 2015 figure. The average annual harvest over 10 years is 1.09 million. This year’s price was 60 cents a pound, compared to 52 cents per pound in 2015.
Chinook – 400 were harvested, compared to a 10-year annual average of 1,060. The price this year was $3.06 a pound.
Meanwhile, roughly 86,700 sockeye swam up the Chilkoot River to spawn. The fish and game department’s goal was to have 38,000 to 86,000 sockeye going upstream on the Chilkoot River.
Chilkat Lake received roughly 82,700 sockeye. The state’s goal was to have 70,000 to 150,000 reach the lake to spawn.