Troll Fishery
Last update for Southeast Alaska troll fishery was stat week 37. Regional power troll coho salmon catch rates for the current week (stat week 37) are 149/day, which represents the highest catch per unit effort on record for week 37.  The highest catch rates for this week are within the waters of the Central Outside and Northern Outside areas, averaging 194 and 152 coho per day, respectively. Catch rates are above average in each portion of the region. Coho weights continue to rapidly increase, and are now averaging 7.7 lbs for the current week, with a seasonal average of 6.1 lbs.  The average price is currently $1.45/lb with an average summer price of $1.45/lb.  The cumulative coho harvest since July 1 is just under 1.74 million, with a peak weekly harvest of 272,000 during the week of July 20-26.
Based on projections by the department that coho escapement goals will be met after considering harvest and effort, the Southeast/Yakutat commercial troll fishery will be extended through September 30, as announced in a news release dated September 10. Projections for wild coho abundance and wild commercial coho harvest are both above average, at 4.3 million and 2.32 million respectively. This will be the 13th year since 1994 that the troll fishery was extended. During past coho season extension periods, an average of 0.6% of the annual troll coho harvest was taken and effort was relatively low.
The second Chinook salmon retention period of the summer was opened from August 14 through 18 to target the 36,051 fish remaining on the annual troll treaty quota.  The fishery was extended an additional 2 days from initially announced 3-day opening based on poor weather and reduced effort during the fishery. Preliminary estimates indicate a treaty harvest of approximately 54,000 fish by 651 permits, with an average weight of 11.6 lbs and average price of $3.52.
The 2014–2015 winter troll fishery will open according to regulation at 12:01 a.m., October 11, 2014. The 2014–2015 Winter Troll Fishery Management Plan will be available by early October in all ADF&G area offices and on the troll fishery website.

The 2014 Summer Troll Management Plans can be found on the Southeast troll website. Inseason catch and effort data for summer is available on the same site:

Southeast Alaska Purse Seine Fishery
There were no openings in the Southeast Alaska purse seine fishery in stat week 37. The season will likely close next week and that will conclude the 2014 season.

Southeast Drift Gillnet Fishery
Traditional area drift gillnet fisheries occur in Districts 1, 6, 8, 11, and 15.

Tree Point/Section 1-B
The Tree Point drift gillnet fishery was open for four days starting at 12:01 p.m., Sunday, September 7, 2014 (stat week 38). The effort level was above average with 38 vessels participating.  The harvest was below average for sockeye salmon, pink salmon, and chum salmon and average for coho salmon. Total harvest estimate for the week is 10 Chinook salmon, 100 sockeye salmon, 9,000 coho salmon, 600 pink salmon, and 7,000 chum salmon. Tree Point drift gillnet fishery is currently being managed based on the strength of returning wild stock coho salmon and fall chum salmon. The Hugh Smith weir which is located in Boca De Quadra has passed 950 adult coho salmon at this time. The escapement goal is 500-1,600 fish.  Based on coho salmon harvests and escapement, Tree Point will be open for four days beginning 12:01 p.m., Sunday, September 14, 2014.

Prince of Wales and Stikine/Districts 6 and 8
Management focus of the District 6 and 8 gillnet fishery for this week’s opener beginning September 14 (stat week 38) was based on wild coho salmon abundance. Both districts opened for 96 hours. The catch rates in both districts continued to be above average this week. The number of participants continued to decrease this week and was below average. The hatchery component for coho salmon harvested this week is estimated to be approximately 50%. The proportion of the hatchery component will continue to increase steadily during the next few weeks. Both districts will open for 96 hours beginning Sunday, September 21.  
The most recent Stikine River sockeye salmon inseason abundance estimate is 227,000 fish, well above the 152,000 fish preseason forecast. The last inseason assessment for Stikine River king salmon made on June 20 was for a terminal run size of 26,000 fish.

Taku-Snettisham/Section 11-B
The District 11 fishery saw above average, but daily decreasing effort levels this week (stat week 38).   Catch rates for coho and chum were both generally below average, but the change in weather at the end of the period saw improved catch rates of both species resulting in an above average coho catch for the week.  This week’s Taku River coho salmon inriver run projection declined slightly to 141,000 fish with the run 74% through its historical timing.  This puts approximately 104,000 coho salmon currently above-border, exceeding the 75,000 fish above border US management objective, and the 89,500 fish escapement past all fisheries exceeds the 2014 bilateral escapement objective of 70,000 Taku coho salmon.  The size of the fleet is anticipated to decline with weaker fishing and boats moving to other fisheries, and with no escapement concerns for Taku River coho salmon, Section 11B will open for 5 days in stat week 39.  The Speel Arm SHA will be closed, but the throat of Port Snettisham will remain open.

Lynn Canal/District 15
For stat week 38, the District 15 gillnet fishery was open for two days south of Seduction Point. The fishing effort was below average, with an estimated 55 boats participating. The chum salmon harvest was about 25% of the average, and while the coho salmon catch was average, the catch per unit effort for coho was twice the average. Sockeye salmon harvest was one third of the average. The harvest estimate for this week is 200 sockeye salmon, 11,000 coho salmon, and 3,800 chum salmon.

With fall season management in effect, the focus is on the strength of the returns of coho and chum salmon.  The coho salmon return in this district is strong, and the troll fishery indicates that coho salmon abundance is high in northern southeast Alaska.  The coho salmon catch in the Chilkat River fish wheels is well above average.  The catch of chum salmon in the Chilkat River fish wheels catch is below average, but projecting an escapement within goals.  The low abundance of chum salmon in the commercial harvest and the relative weakness in the fish wheels indicates a need for a conservative management strategy at this time. Chilkat Lake sockeye escapement continues to be low, and this management strategy will also serve to further reduce fishing pressure on the late portion of this stock.

In District 15, Section 15-A will be open south of the northernmost tip of Sullivan Island for two days. All of section 15-C will also be open for two days.

Yakutat Area Set Gillnet Fishery
This is the last update for the Yakutat set gillnet fishery, stat week 37. Inclement weather and subsequent flood conditions severely hampered fishing effort this week in Yakutat, for stat week 37.  In the Situk-Ahrnklin Inlet, 60 permits harvested 20,000 coho salmon.  In the Tsiu River, nine permits harvested 11,000 coho salmon. The Tsiu River fishery remains on “trip limits” due to the shortage of aircraft to haul product to market.  Fewer than three permits fished the Akwe River, and harvest information for the Akwe remains confidential.  All other Yakutat systems were open, but not fished this week.
An aerial survey of the Tsiu River on September 9 revealed 22,000 fish above the markers; this is above the mid-range in the biological escapement goal (BEG) of 10,000 to 29,000 fish. A float survey of the Situk River on August 29 revealed 8,200 coho salmon; this is near the top end of the Situk River BEG of 9.800 fish. The attainment of these BEGs virtually insures that fishing periods for coho salmon will be on extended times through the end of the coho salmon season. The Yakutat set gillnet fishing season will remain open through the second week of October.

Terminal Harvest Area Fisheries
Terminal Harvest Area (THA) gillnet fisheries occur in Nakat Inlet, Neets Bay, Anita Bay, Deep Inlet, and Boat Harbor.  THA seine fisheries occur in Neets Bay, Kendrick Bay, Anita Bay, Deep Inlet, and Hidden Falls. 

Nakat Inlet THA
The forecasted return of Nakat Inlet summer chum salmon is 280,000 and for fall chum salmon is 10,000. Nakat Inlet opened to the harvest of salmon by drift gillnet and troll gear on Sunday, June 1, 2014. The total estimated harvest is 188,000 chum salmon, or 65% of the forecast.  Harvest includes 75,000 gillnet-harvested chum salmon inside the Nakat Inlet THA, plus approximately 99,000 gillnet-harvested and 14,000 purse seine-harvested chum salmon in traditional common property fisheries.

Neets Bay THA
The Neets Bay forecasted return for summer chum salmon is 1,800,000 fish, the fall chum salmon is 140,000 fish, for Chinook salmon is 18,100 fish, and for coho salmon is 296,000 fish. Neets Bay opened to the harvest of salmon by all gear groups on Thursday, May 1, 2014. The estimated harvest of chum salmon inside the Neets Bay THA is 6,300 Chinook salmon and 6,000 chum salmon by purse seine and 3,200 Chinook salmon and 900 chum salmon harvested by gillnet.  In the traditional common property fisheries, the estimated harvest of Neets Bay summer chum salmon is approximately 196,000 seine-harvested chums, 61,000 gillnet-harvested chum salmon and 127,000 harvested by the troll fleet.  Cost recovery to date has harvested approximately 577,000 chum salmon with another 178,000 for broodstock needs.

Kendrick Bay THA
The forecasted return for Kendrick Bay summer chum salmon is 700,000 fish. Kendrick Bay opened to the harvest of salmon by purse seine gear on Sunday, June 15, 2014. The total harvest is estimated at 452,000 chum salmon, or 65% of the forecast.  Of this harvest, approximately 103,000 fish have been harvested inside the Kendrick Bay THA and 333,000 fish have been harvested by seine and 16,000 fish by gillnet outside the Terminal Harvest Area (THA) in common property fisheries. 

Anita Bay THA
In 2014, approximately 15,400 king salmon, 501,000 summer chum, and 15,500 coho salmon are expected to return. The cumulative gillnet harvest to date is 7,000 king salmon, 45,000 chum, and 500 coho salmon.

Deep Inlet THA
The Deep Inlet THA rotational fishing schedule for seine and gillnet began on June 1.  Forecast returns for the Deep Inlet THA and Medvejie Hatchery includes 1,170,000 chum salmon, 36,200 Chinook salmon, and 10,000 coho salmon.  Deep Inlet closed to all common property commercial fisheries on Saturday, August 16 to ensure NSRAA achieved their broodstock goals this season. The Deep Inlet rotational fishery re-opened on September 3 starting with one day of troll, followed by one day of seine then one day of gillnet. During the initial open periods last week, trollers harvested 3,000, seiners harvested 136,000, and gillnetters harvested 30,000 chum salmon.  The rotational fishery will continue through September. To date seiners have harvested 355,000 and gillnetters have harvested 197,000 chum salmon in the terminal harvest area. It is estimated seiners harvested an additional 45,000 hatchery chum salmon in the traditional seine fishery in Sitka Sound and trollers harvested 18,000 outside of the THA.  The total return, including broodstock is now estimated at approximately 870,000 chum salmon, 74% of forecast.  

Hidden Falls THA
Update for stat week 38. The Deep Inlet Terminal Harvest Area (THA) rotational fishing schedule for purse seine and gillnet began on June 1.  Forecast returns for the Deep Inlet THA and Medvejie Hatchery includes 1,170,000 chum salmon, 36,200 Chinook salmon, and 10,000 coho salmon.  Deep Inlet closed to all common property commercial fisheries on Saturday, August 16 to ensure Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association (NSRAA) achieved their broodstock goals this season. The Deep Inlet rotational fishery re-opened on September 3 starting with one day of troll, followed by one day of seine, then one day of gillnet. The rotational fishery will continue through September. During the previous week, seiners harvested 48,000 chum salmon and gillnetters harvested 32,000 chum salmon.  For the season, seiners have harvested 568,000 chum salmon and 1,300 chinook salmon and gillnetters have harvested 278,000 chum salmon and 3,400 Chinook salmon in the terminal harvest area. It is estimated seiners harvested an additional 45,000 hatchery chum salmon in the traditional seine fishery in Sitka Sound and trollers harvested 18,000 outside of the THA.  The total return, including broodstock is now estimated at approximately 1,000,000 chum salmon, 85% of forecast.  

Hidden Falls THA
Forecast returns for Hidden Falls THA includes 1,072,000 chum salmon, 6,100 king salmon, and 188,000 coho salmon.  The first common property purse seine opening occurred on June 15 and closed for the season on July 31.  The total common property chum salmon harvest for the season is approximately 250,000.  The total return to date is 426,000 chum salmon.

PWS Purse Seine
The majority of PWS was opened to daily purse seine fishing periods until 8 PM on Wednesday, September 17. The PWS commercial purse seine fishery was closed for 2014 the season at 8 PM on Wednesday, September 17. Stat week 38 will be the last Bluesheet summary.

The PWS aerial survey program has been grounded this past week due to weather. Stream escapements have been within escapement goals throughout the season.

The preliminary 2014 commercial purse seine harvest was composed of 36.9 million pink, 347,000 chum, 53,100 sockeye, 31,100 coho, and 355 Chinook salmon.

Otolith contribution estimates result in a total harvest (cost recovery and Common Property Fishery (CPF)) of 24.2 million Solomon Gulch Hatchery (SGH) pink salmon. This is a record harvest for SGH pink salmon. The preseason total run forecast for SGH was 12.9 million pink salmon. Valdez Fisheries Development Association (VFDA) reached its cost recovery goal on July 13. VFDA reached the pink salmon egg take goal at SGH on August 30.

Otolith contribution estimates result in the harvest (cost recovery and CPF) of 4.40 million Armin F. Koernig Hatchery (AFK) pink salmon, 5.06 million Cannery Creek Hatchery (CCH) fish, and 7.94 million WNH fish, for a total harvest of 17.4 million Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation (PWSAC) pink salmon. The preseason total run forecast for PWSAC pink salmon was 21.2 million fish, including 7 million AFK, 4.9 million CCH, and 9.3 million Wally Noerenberg Hatchery (WNH). PWSAC reached its cost recovery goal on August 2. PWSAC reached the pink salmon egg take goals at WNH and AFK on August 30, and September 5, respectively. PWSAC concluded pink salmon egg take operations at CCH on Saturday, September 13, having collected 181 million pink salmon eggs, or 97% of the 187 million egg goal.

Otolith contribution estimates result in a total harvest of 1.95 million wild stock pink salmon.

Including CPF (drift gillnet, set gillnet, and purse seine) harvest estimates, VFDA cost recovery fish, and PWSAC cost recovery fish, the cumulative 2014 PWS pink salmon harvest is approximately 43.6 million pink salmon.

The department thanks all PWS salmon purse seine fishery participants for their hard work and cooperation throughout the 2014 fishing season, and wishes all a safe and enjoyable offseason

PWS Gillnet
The Copper River (CR) District was open for a 24-hour period on Thursday, September 11 and Monday, September 15. The Bering River was open for a 24-hour period on Thursday, September 11 and Monday, September 15. The Coghill District was open to commercial drift gillnet and purse seine harvest for 12-hour periods daily on Thursday, September 11 through Wednesday, September 17.

For the week ending September 13, the actual Copper River delta aerial survey count was 34,475 coho salmon versus an anticipated range of 21,447–44,904 fish.  For the week ending September 13, the actual Bering River District aerial survey count was 19,325 fish versus an anticipated range of 8,803–22,345 coho salmon.

Currently there are an estimated <100 gillnet permits participating in CR/PWS gillnet fisheries. There are no processing capacity problems to report. Gillnet fishing effort  has begun to decrease as coho salmon fishing in the Copper River, Bering River and Coghill districts moves beyond peak run entry.

The harvest estimate from the Copper River District period that closed Friday, September 12 was 25,200 coho salmon. The harvest estimate from the period that closed Tuesday, September 16 was 26,000 coho salmon. The cumulative Copper River District harvest to date is 309,000 coho salmon. The cumulative Bering River District harvest to date is 98,000 coho salmon. The cumulative Coghill District harvest to date is 145,000 coho salmon. Sockeye salmon runs are complete, and coho salmon harvest is nearing completion.

At the end of the current Copper River, Bering River, and Coghill district fishing periods, the two remaining large capacity processors will be done for the season and processor and fisherman participation will be minimal from this point forward.

Togiak
The counting tower project on Togiak Lake ceased operations after August 3.  The final escapement to the Togiak River was 152,000 sockeye salmon.  This is within the escapement goal range of 120,000 to 270,000.  Sockeye salmon harvest was 426,000, bringing the total run to 578,000 sockeye salmon and short of the 720,000 preseason forecast. The last processor in operation ceased buying for the season at the close of fishing on August 29.  The Togiak coho salmon harvest was 33,000.

• Central District Drift Gillnet fishery: Mondays and Thursdays – 12 hour periods.
• Western Subdistrict Set Gillnet fishery: Mondays and Thursdays – 12 hours.
• Northern District Set Gillnet fishery: Mondays and Thursdays – 12 hour periods.
• Upper Subdistrict Set Gillnet fishery: Kasilof and Kenai/E. Forelands sections are closed for the 2014 season.
• Kalgin Island Subdistrict Set Gillnet fishery: Mondays and Thursdays – 12 hour periods.

The Kasilof River sockeye salmon enumeration project began on June 15.  Through August 7, the cumulative sockeye salmon passage in the Kasilof River is approximately 440,000 fish.  This is above the upper end of the OEG and BEG. Sockeye salmon enumeration in the Kasilof River has ended for the 2014 season.

The Kenai River sockeye salmon enumeration project began on July 1.  Through August 4, the cumulative sockeye salmon passage was 1,090,000 fish.  This level of passage is above the lower end of the inriver goal (1,000,000 to 1,200,000 fish).  Beginning August 5, daily passage values are not reported in the Kenai River due to the high abundance of pink salmon at the sonar site.  Values will be reported post season.

Typically by this time of the season participation drops off significantly.  Currently there is no participation in the Western Subdistrict and Kalgin Island set gillnet fisheries. Participation is limited to a few individuals in the Northern District set gillnet fishery and the Central District drift gillnet fishery. All participation in Upper Cook Inlet commercial fisheries usually ends by the second week of September. The Northern District Set Gillnet fishery regular season opened on June 26.  Harvest since the June 26 opening is approximately 33,660 sockeye salmon and 94 king salmon.

The Western Subdistrict Set Gillnet fishery opened on Monday, June 16.  Approximately 84 king salmon and 33,760 sockeye salmon have been harvested since the opening period.

The Central District Drift Gillnet Fishery opened on Thursday, June 19.  Harvest is estimated at 1,475,899 sockeye salmon and 303 king salmon. This includes 8,300 sockeye salmon and 11 king salmon from the Kasilof River Special Harvest Area.

Upper Subdistrict Set Gillnet Fishery has harvested and estimated at 704,760 sockeye salmon and 2,055 king salmon as of August 6. This includes 180,000 sockeye salmon and 550 king salmon from the Kasilof River Special Harvest Area.

Kalgin Island Subdistrict Set Gillnet fishery has harvested an estimated 30,750 sockeye salmon and 10 king salmon.

The Central District drift gillnet fishery is restricted to Drift Gillnet Areas 3 and 4 for the remainder of the 2014 season.  Additionally, Chinitna Bay was opened to drift gillnetting on Tuesdays and Fridays from 7 am until 7 pm beginning August 29.

Lower Cook Inlet (LCI)
The Outer, Eastern, Southern and Kamishak Bay districts will close to purse seine harvest for the 2014 season at 12:01 AM on Sunday, September 14. The set gillnet fishery in the Southern District remains open through September 30 as per 5AAC 21.310. There have been no commercial deliveries reported since August 29 for purse seine, and August 15 for set gillnet. Subsistence harvest in the Port Chatham and Windy Bay subdistricts closed on August 1, however subsistence harvest remains open through September 30 in the Port Graham and Dogfish Bay (Koyuktolik) subdistricts, per 5AAC 01.560.
The preliminary estimate of the 2014 Lower Cook Inlet Area commercial salmon harvest based on current fish ticket data was 651,000 salmon. The harvest was composed of 298,000 pink, 278,000 sockeye, 73,500 chum, 791 coho, and 368 Chinook salmon. The harvest was comprised of 444,000 (68.2%) commercial common property fishery (CPF) fish, and 207,000a (31.8%) hatchery cost recovery and broodstock fish.

For more information see Sept 12, 2014 news release.
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/dcfnewsrelease/491860753.pdf

Kodiak
For stat week 38, the following areas are open until further notice: The Izhut, Outer Kitoi Bay, and Southwest Afognak sections of the Afognak District, the Outer Ayakulik, Halibut Bay, Sturgeon, Inner Karluk, and Outer Karluk sections of the Southwest Kodiak District, and the Central and North Cape sections of the Northwest Kodiak District.

Karluk River late-run sockeye salmon have exceeded the upper value of the escapement goal with 404,422 fish counted.  The weir was removed September 8.  The Karluk River Chinook salmon run is weak and non-retention of Chinook salmon has been imposed on the purse seine fleet.

Ayakulik River late-run sockeye salmon were average with approximately 87,671 fish counted through the weir.  Ayakulik Chinook were weak and the weir was removed on September 4th.

In Alitak, late-run sockeye salmon escapement into Upper Station is average with 181,411 sockeye salmon counted as of September 16 when the weir was removed.   Sockeye salmon escapement through Dog Salmon weir was strong with 217,461 fish counted when the weir was removed on August 19th.

The Buskin, Afognak, Saltery, Pauls, Kaflia, Swikshak, Uganik, Little River, Long Lagoon, Thorsheim, and Perenosa Bay river sockeye salmon runs all met or exceeded their goals.

Purse seine participation was up from previous years however gillnet participation about normal.

The current Kodiak Management Area (KMA) sockeye salmon commercial harvest is 3,019,568 fish which is above average to date.  10,250,117 pink salmon have been harvested to date which is below average.

Most processors have ceased buying salmon and participation has greatly decreased this past week, stat week 38.

South Alaska Peninsula
This will be the last weekly summary of the season for the South Peninsula (stat week 38) as participation is declining and we do not anticipate any significant harvest over the next week. 
Commercial salmon fishing in the Southwestern, South Central, and Southeastern districts occurred from 9:00 a.m. Monday, September 15 until 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 17. The fishing period was extended for 48 hours until 8:00 p.m. Friday, September 19.  Fishing periods in September are based primarily on the abundance of coho salmon. The catch per unit effort (CPUE) of coho salmon during current fishing periods will be compared to previous years’ harvest to determine if extensions to the fishing period is warranted.
Several aerial surveys have been conducted in the Southwestern, South Central, and Southeastern districts over the past week.  No significant buildup of pink or chum salmon have been seen in any other systems at this point in the season.
This season participation in the Post-June fisheries is consistent with previous years.
With the exception of Chinook salmon, the total harvest to date of other species is below average.  To date a total of 6,707 Chinook salmon, 1,402,026 sockeye salmon, 299,823 coho salmon, 725,667 pink salmon, and 501,347 chum salmon have been harvested in the South Peninsula.

For the past week, sockeye salmon escapement into the Chignik River averaged 1,300 fish per day. Through September 3, the last day the weir was operational, a total of 268,061 late-run sockeye salmon passed the weir which is within the late-run escapement goal of 250,000–400,000 fish. The estimated cumulative early-run sockeye salmon escapement was 360,381 fish which was within the early-run escapement goal of 350,000–450,000 fish. Aerial surveys of other CMA streams and rivers have indicated healthy escapements of local pink and chum salmon stocks in the Central, Western, and Perryville districts. Low to moderate pink and chum salmon escapement were observed in Eastern District streams.  The area-wide even-year pink salmon goal (200,000 to 500,000 fish) and the chum salmon sustainable escapement goal lower bound (57,400 fish) have been met.  A total of 67 permits have made deliveries in 2014. The Chignik River early run failed to materialize as forecasted which resulted in no commercial salmon fishing periods in June and early July.  The Chignik salmon fishery opened on July 12 which was one of the latest openers in the history of the CMA.

Traditionally, the majority of sockeye salmon harvest in the Eastern and Central districts occurs in June. Due to no fishing periods allowed on the early run, sockeye salmon harvests in these districts were well below average for the season. In addition to the poor harvest in the Eastern and Central districts, the Chignik Bay district experienced the lowest sockeye salmon harvest since at least 1970. Conversely, fisherman in the Western District harvested the highest number of sockeye salmon in the history of the CMA. Increased fishing effort and the resulting high harvest within the Western District was largely due to an exceptionally long stretch of nice weather and a strong and slightly early return of pink salmon within the district which allowed for several long extensions to the fishing periods in late July and early August. A total of 617,395 sockeye salmon were harvested in the CMA this season.

There have been twelve fall commercial periods in District 1. The preliminary cumulative commercial harvest in District 1 through September 5 is approximately 51,807 fall chum salmon and 54,673 coho salmon. Eight fall commercial periods have occurred in District 2. There is currently no buyer operating in Y-2 and the department does not anticipate any further commercial openings in that district for the remainder of the season. The preliminary cumulative commercial harvest in District 2 through August 30 is approximately 61,669 fall chum salmon and 46,023 coho salmon.
Commercial fishing in Subdistricts 5-B and 5-C is on a five-day a week schedule. The preliminary cumulative commercial harvest prior to the current schedule through September 7 is 1,264 fall chum salmon. However, there are no buyers currently operating in either subdistrict.

Commercial fishing in District 6 is on a two 42-hour period per week schedule.  The preliminary cumulative commercial harvest through September 10 is 995 fall chum salmon and 506 coho salmon.
Kuskokwim Area
District W-4, Quinhagak, and District W-5, Goodnews Bay, opened to commercial salmon fishing August 22, August 25, and August 27 for 12 hours from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.  August 27 marked the end of the 2014 commercial salmon fishing season in districts W-4 and W-5.  Sub-district W-1B, Kuskokwim River, opened to commercial salmon fishing August 26 for 6 hours in the upper section and 8 hours in the lower section. August 26 marked the end of the 2014 commercial salmon fishing season in the Kuskokwim River.   Kuskokwim River weir escapements of king and chum salmon are near or below recent 5-year averages. George River weir has exceeded the escapement goal for king salmon, while the Kogruluk and Kwethluk weirs are not likely to achieve the lower end of their respective escapement goal ranges. Weir escapements of sockeye salmon are slightly below 5-year averages. Coho salmon passage at Kuskokwim river escapement projects has been tracking above recent year averages. Kuskokwim Bay weir escapements of king and chum salmon are below 5-year averages. Middle Fork Goodnews River and Kanektok River weirs have exceeded the upper bound of their respective sockeye salmon escapement goal ranges. Middle Fork Goodnews River weir coho escapement is currently tracking below historical average.  Participation in district W-4 and W-5 commercial salmon fishing periods was above average with 47 permits registered making deliveries in District W-4 and 42 permits registered making deliveries in District W-5. Participation in district W-1B commercial salmon fishing periods was above average with 190 permits registered making deliveries.  District W-4 and W-5 harvest and catch rates for coho salmon were above historical averages. District W-4 king and chum salmon cumulative harvests were below historical averages for the season, while sockeye and coho salmon cumulative harvest were near historical averages for the season.  Sub-district W-1B harvest and catch rates for coho salmon were near the historical average. Sub-district W-1B king, sockeye, chum, and coho salmon cumulative harvest for the 2014 season were below historical averages.

Norton Sound
The table lists the latest preliminary salmon harvests (numbers of fish) for the Norton Sound District by subdistrict.  The table also includes how this year’s harvests rank historically.  Exvessel value estimates are unavailable at this time but are expected to be record setting based on the harvests and salmon prices reported by the buyer.  Exvessel value is expected to exceed 1.5 million dollars.  Norton Sound has one more directed coho salmon period that will begin this Friday in Subdistricts 5 and 6 and then the Norton Sound salmon season will be over. 

Chum salmon harvest exceeded 100,000 fish for the 4th time in 5 years and ranked 23rd overall in 54 years of harvests.  Chum salmon harvests would have been much higher had incidental catches of large, male pink salmon not been so high.  The major buyer had to reduce fishing time because of these less marketable fish being caught in chum salmon gear. Coho salmon harvests were record setting in Elim and Norton Bay, 9th best in Unalakleet, 7th best in Shaktoolik, and 4th best in Golovin. 

Kotzebue
Kotzebue salmon season is over. This year was the second greatest chum salmon harvest (633,000 chums) and second greatest payout (almost 3 million dollars) to fishermen. Only 1981 had a greater harvest (677,000 chums) and payout (3.25 million dollars), but 187 permits fished in 1981 and only 95 permits fished in 2014.