ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The coming year should prove a lucrative year for Alaska fisheries, even in the face of the doom and gloom surrounding the chinook salmon declines and a sketchy halibut situation.
The largest volume fishery, pollock, and the most valuable fishery, salmon, both have positive forecasts and large projected harvests; escapements for Alaska's iconic king salmon were largely achieved in 2014; and various regulatory bodies have a full schedule to deal with both hurting and flourishing stocks.
Pollock quotas rise
Pollock is largest fishery in the country and 43 percent of the Alaska fishery volume, so the more pollock biomass, the merrier, and this year looks promising. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated in 2014 that the Bering Sea pollock biomass has grown by as much as 60 percent.
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