The small-sized fish, or the 2/4 size, have dominated this year's season, forcing packers to opt for H&G production

'Persistent abundance' of pinks seems to be outcompeting sockeye, which are in decline in British Columbia, yet the Fraser River run is unaffected due to timing

By Jeanine Stewart

Newly posted sockeye prices in Alaska are disappointing fishermen's hopes for a $2/lb. grounds price, but this could mean new opportunities for companies traditionally focused on pinks and chums, such as Yihe  

Reactions among fishermen were mixed as word spread that going home price would be $1.20 a pound, plus an added $0.15 for chilled fish, which was confirmed by the Alaska Independent Fishermen's Marketing Association

Changes include ability to set the total allowable catch for both sockeye and pink, in bid to address concerns during low sockeye abundance and large pink salmon returns

The sockeye salmon tally crossing by Washington state's Bonneville Dam on Tuesday hit 526,367 fish, surpassing the season record of 515,673 fish set in 2012

Meanwhile, total catch for all species approaches 60 million fish as the dungeness crab and lingcod fisheries plug away

Catches had reached over 34,000t by July 8, a 10,000t increase from 2012, the last comparable catch year

Canada officials testing fisheries daily as they expect a possibly gigantic run, although uncertainty reigns since the run prediction ranges from 7.2m to 72 million fish

By Jeanine Stewart

It is certainly too early to make any conclusions about pink’s surprise harvest influx, but as the sockeye harvest hits 29.1m fish as of Wednesday, it is well on its way to meet or exceed the forecast of 33.6m fish while chum harvest starts weak