Salmon fishing boats at Cordova, Alaska. (Photo: Stock File)

Summer salmon arrive in Alaska

Hundreds of fishers have travelled to the town of Cordova as the first salmon of the summer season return to Alaskan waters on Thursday.

An anticipated 127 million wild Alaskan salmon will be harvested from now through October by thousands throughout the state. The wild salmon found in the state are king, sockeye, keta, pink and coho.

Alaska provides 90-95 per cent of all wild salmon harvested in North America.

Copper River Seafoods organised and hosted a 2010 Salmon Season picnic on Saturday at the Copper River Seafoods dock. Trident Seafoods scheduled its fishing season picnic on Monday at the North plant.

The Copper River District opened for the season on Wednesday morning for a 12-hour period. This involves fishers gathering to discuss the forthcoming season with their buyers, which fishers hope will beat last year’s dire conditions.

On Tuesday, Peter Pan Seafoods hosted its fishing season picnic at the Powder House.

Bill Bailey, co-owner of the Copper River Seafoods, provided encouragement to his Copper River Seafoods fishers, The Cordova Times reports.

"Processors, fishermen and buyers -- it will be a good season for everyone," he said. "If everything comes in on the prediction -- it is a positive for salmon."

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) said the Miles Lake sonar will be active once river conditions permit. Per 5 AAC 01.610, Fishing Season there will not be a Copper River District subsistence fishing period before the commercial fishing season.

Subsistence harvest may take place in the Copper River District simultaneous with commercial periods until the Copper River District closes at the season’s end.

Districts in the Prince William Sound outside of the Chenega and the Tatitlek subsistence areas will open to subsistence harvest on Saturday morning. The Tatitlek and Chenega subsistence areas will also open to subsistence harvest that morning.

Throughout the Tatitlek and Chenega subsistence areas, legal gear types are 150 fathom set or drift gillnets, 50 fathom seines and dipnets in freshwater for pink salmon.

The next scheduled salmon fisheries announcement is expected to come on Saturday afternoon. Permit holders were told that unscheduled announcements contingent on current escapement information may arise at any time in-season to either establish an additional period or extend an open one.

Related articles:

- Alaska's 2009 salmon harvest 11th-largest in history
- Alaskan salmon season running below forecast

By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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