The 2010 salmon season tallied nearly $534 million at the Alaska docks, the best showing in 18 years. But the big payday was not spread around evenly. Just two areas, Bristol Bay and Prince William Sound, accounted for 55 percent of the value of the total Alaska catch.
For the bay, a catch of nearly 29 million sockeye salmon rang in at almost $149 million, an increase of $4.5 million over 2009. (That doesn't include bonuses or other post-season adjustments.)
Prince William Sound set a record, with a total salmon catch of 75.4 million — nearly 45 percent of all salmon harvested in Alaska this year. The PWS harvest of 69 million humpies accounted for 66 percent of Alaska's total pink salmon catch.
The statewide chum catch of 18.2 million is the eighth best since statehood; the value of nearly $93 million is the second-highest since 1975.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Alaska Journal of Commerce.