Prince William Sound harvesters saw their commercial catch of coho salmon reach 58,000 fish through Tuesday, Sept. 6, up from 29,000 silvers a week earlier, while the harvest of other salmon species held at 26.6 million pink, 2.8 million chum, 1.56 million sockeyes and 10,000 Chinooks.
Statewide the commercial salmon harvest now totals 152.8 million fish, up slightly from some 151 million salmon a week earlier, including 74.3 million sockeyes, 64.5 million pinks, 12.6 million chums, 1.1 million cohos and 274,000 Chinooks.
Bristol Bay still led area wide with an overall harvest of 60.5 million salmon, followed by nearly 31 million salmon for Prince William Sound, 26 million for Southeast Alaska, 17.8 million salmon for the Kodiak area and a total of 605,000 salmon for the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim region, including 476,000 chums for Kotzebue. Norton Sound harvesters brought in a total of 129,000 fish, including 84,000 pinks, 31,000 chums, 13,000 cohos and 1,000 sockeyes.
For consumers still hankering for Copper River salmon, the online retailer FishEx in Anchorage was offering reduced prices of $79.95 a pound for premium portions of Copper River Chinooks and $29.95 a pound for premium portions of Copper River reds.
Fillets of sockeye and coho salmon were also available at Fred Meyer, Carrs-Safeway and Costco seafood sections in Anchorage, with steady demand even in the wake of the Labor Day weekend.
