Troll Fishery
The winter troll fishery closed by regulation on April 30, after being open since October 11, 2012. A total of 26,461 Chinook salmon were harvested by 442 permit holders. Record prices of more than $10/pound held up for four consecutive weeks, while the average price for the fishery was $8.67/pound. The average weight, at 12.3 pounds, was slightly below average but greater than the previous year. While the number harvested is the lowest since 2009, effort was at average levels. The Alaska hatchery contribution was 13%, above the 5-year average of 11%.

Several spring troll fishing areas opened on May 1 and additional areas will open initially throughout May and June. To date, 34 spring troll and terminal harvest areas have been opened to trolling. Through May 15 (week 20), approximately 95 permits holders have made 116 landings, with a total of 908 Chinook salmon harvested. This is a decrease in effort from 2012 and the 5-year average by 46% and 43%, respectively. The 2013 cumulative Chinook salmon harvest through week 20 is down from 2012 by 1,827, and from the 5-year average by 1,551. The current spring seasonal average weight for Chinook salmon of 12.8 pounds is just above the 2012 average of 12.6 pounds, but below the 5-year average of 14.1 pounds. The average price for Chinook salmon this spring continues to hold at near record levels, similar to winter. The seasonal average price per pound of $7.45 is an increase of $1.84 from 2012, and $0.55 from the 5-yeaar average.

Purse Seine Fishery
The SE Alaska purse seine fishery will begin the 2013 season in traditional areas on Sunday, June 16 at Tenakee Inlet, Point Augusta, and District 2 in conjunction with terminal harvest area openings at Hidden Falls, Deep Inlet, and Kendrick Bay. Initial openings are scheduled for Section 13-C on June 23, District 10 on June 30, and Districts 1 and 4 on July 7. Further openings in these and other areas will be determined inseason.

The department has forecast a pink salmon harvest of 54 million fish for the season, well above the recent 10-year average harvest of 34.5 million fish. Based primarily on combined hatchery chum salmon forecasts, a harvest of 13.5 million fish is expected.

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 opens the third Sunday in June, or Sunday June 16, 2013.

Stikine and Prince of Wales/Districts 6 and 8
The Chinook salmon forecast for the Stikine River is 22,400 large adults. This forecast does not allow for any directed Chinook fisheries. The District 8 gillnet fishery will likely remain closed until the beginning of the sockeye salmon fishing season. Districts 6 and 8 sockeye salmon fisheries are scheduled to begin on June 17 with an initial 48-hour opening. The preseason forecast for Stikine sockeye salmon is 134,000 fish, well below the previous 10-year average. Local island systems sockeye returns are expected to be near average.

Taku-Snettisham/Section 11-B
The small pre-season forecast of 18,700 large Taku River Chinook salmon does not provide for any directed Chinook fisheries in District 11 in 2013.

The 2013 Taku Inlet/Stephens Passage (Section 11B) drift gillnet fishery will open for two days beginning Sunday, June 16 to target sockeye salmon. Through mid-August, management will be based on wild sockeye abundance, and then management focus will shift Taku River coho salmon abundance. Weekly opening times will be determined inseason based on data from the Taku River stock assessment program, fishery catch per unit effort (CPUE), and effort levels.

The total return of wild Taku River sockeye salmon is expected to be near average, and the Taku River coho salmon return is expected to be below average.

DIPAC is forecasting a return of 687,000 enhanced chum salmon from hatchery releases in Gastineau Channel and Limestone Inlet remote release sites. The forecast return of enhanced sockeye salmon to Snettisham Hatchery is 240,000 fish.

For further details concerning this fishery, the 2013 Southeast Alaska drift gillnet fishery management plan is available at area offices or on the web.

Lynn Canal/District 15
The 2013 Lynn Canal (District 15) drift gillnet fishery will open for two days beginning Sunday, June 16 in Sections 15-A and 15-C. Time and area adjustments to the District 15 commercial salmon drift gillnet fishery will be designed to harvest Chilkat Lake sockeye salmon while minimizing harvest of Chilkoot Lake sockeye salmon as well as harvesting expected large returns of hatchery chum salmon in Southern 15-C. The fall season fishery will be managed to harvest Chilkat River fall chum and coho salmon while providing for escapement goals. For further details concerning this fishery, the 2013 Southeast Alaska drift gillnet fishery management plan is available at area offices or on the web.

Above average returns of Chilkat Lake and Chilkat River mainstem sockeye salmon is expected for 2013. Returns of Chilkoot Lake sockeye salmon are expected to be below average in 2013. Management strategies to improve escapement of this stock will be in place for the 2013 season.

DIPAC is forecasting a return of 1.74 million chum salmon to Amalga Harbor and 391,000 chum salmon to the Boat Harbor terminal harvest area. The expected return of 2.131 million hatchery chum to these areas is above the 1996-2012 average of approximately 1.6 million fish.

Yakutat Area Setnet Fishery
The Yakutat Area set gillnet commercial fisheries have not yet opened for the season. The Alsek River will open on the first Sunday in June, Yakutat Bay and the Dangerous River will follow on the second Sunday in June and the Situk-Ahrnklin Inlet will open on the third Sunday in June. By the fourth Sunday in June all area fisheries will be open with the exception of the East River, which opens by emergency order when sockeye salmon escapement has been observed.

The preseason projection for Chinook salmon through the Situk River weir is 475 large fish. The lower end of the biological escapement goal (BEG) for Chinook salmon is 450 fish and the difference of 25 fish is too close to call. Chinook salmon conservation measures adopted in 2011 and 2012 will be in effect this season. Subsistence fishing for Chinook salmon will remain closed and Chinook salmon may not be retained in the sockeye salmon gillnet fisheries. The area at the mouth of the Situk River identified as an area of high Chinook salmon abundance will also remain closed. Conservation measures for Chinook salmon will ease if the BEG is attained.

The area-wide projection for sockeye salmon in 2013 is for below average to well below average returns. The 2008 parent year sockeye return was poor all over the north Pacific, and Yakutat was particularly hard hit, with the area harvest being by far and away the lowest on record. No sockeye salmon BEGs were attained in 2008. The 2013 return will be very closely monitored and it is anticipated that fishing periods may need to be reduced in time for conservation purposes. The projections for pink and coho salmon are for average to above average returns.

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 660,000 fish and for fall chum salmon is 100,000 fish. Nakat Inlet opens to the harvest of salmon by drift gillnet and troll gear on Wednesday, June 1, 2013.

Neets Bay THA
The Neets Bay forecasted return for summer chum salmon is 1,593,000 fish, for fall chum salmon is 215,000 fish, for Chinook salmon is 22,000 fish, and for coho salmon is 225,700 fish. Neets Bay opened to the harvest of salmon by all gear groups on Wednesday, May 1, 2013. Currently there is no reported harvest.

Kendrick Bay THA
The forecasted return for Kendrick Bay summer chum salmon is 1,470,000 fish. Kendrick Bay opens to the harvest of salmon by purse seine gear on Saturday, June 15, 2013.

Anita Bay THA
In 2013, approximately 830,000 summer chum, 10,000 Chinook, and 13,000 coho salmon are expected to return. The Anita Bay THA is open for the harvest of salmon by troll, drift gillnet, and purse seine concurrently from 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, May 1, through 12:00 noon June 12. Beginning June 13, the Anita Bay THA will be open on a rotational schedule for purse seine/drift gillnet fisheries.

Deep Inlet THA
The Deep Inlet THA rotational fishing schedule for seine and gillnet will begin May 26. Forecast returns for Deep Inlet THA and Medvejie Hatchery includes 1,370,000 chum salmon, 30,000 Chinook salmon, and 10,000 coho salmon.

Hidden Falls THA
No cost recovery will occur at Hidden Falls this season. The first common property purse seine opening in the Hidden Falls THA is scheduled for June 16 with 15-hour openings expected to occur Sundays and Thursdays of each week during the early season. Forecast returns for Hidden Falls THA includes 1,315,000 chum salmon, 12,300 Chinook salmon, and 154,000 coho salmon.

Copper River and PWS Drift Gillnet
The Copper River District opened to commercial fishing for a 12-hour fishing period on May 16. This was the first fishing period of the 2013 season. Waters inside of the barrier islands from Steamboat Anchorage to Coffee Creek will be closed during the fishing period on May 16.

The anticipated harvest for this first opening is 36,000 sockeye and 1,800 Chinook salmon. This compares with a 5-year cumulative harvest average of 33,000 sockeye and 1,000 Chinook salmon for this date.

Forecasted high winds and small tides will likely result in reduced fishing effort and decreased harvest efficiency during the first period. Break-up of the Copper River is behind normal and river water levels are well below average.

Escapement monitoring at the Miles Lake Sonar Station for sockeye and Chinook salmon returns to the Copper River has not been initiated due to a combination of low water and ice conditions.

PWS Purse Seine
The 2013 pink salmon forecast total run for PWS is 40.7 million fish, of which 34.0 million are anticipated to be available for the commercial common property fishery (CCPF). This pink salmon total run estimate includes 6.23 million wild stock fish, 13.8 million Valdez Fisheries Development Association (VFDA) fish, and 20.7 million Prince William Sound Aquacuture Corporation (PWSAC) hatchery fish. Approximately 2.93 million (21%) of the projected 13.8 million pink salmon run to VFDA’s Solomon Gulch Hatchery are anticipated to be needed for cost recovery and broodstock leaving 10.8 million for CCPF harvest. Approximately 2.35 million (11%) of the projected 20.7 million pink salmon run to the PWSAC hatcheries are anticipated to be needed for cost recovery and broodstock. The remaining 18.3 million PWSAC pink salmon will be available for CCPF harvest. Based on the department’s wild stock pink salmon forecast of 6.23 million fish, there is a potential common property harvest of 4.79 million wild pink salmon. The department will manage for each district’s pink salmon escapement goal, aiming for each district’s long-term median, for a combined total of 1.45 million fish.

The 2013 chum salmon forecast total run in PWS is 3.99 million fish. The majority, 3.48 million (87%), are from PWSAC hatchery production. PWSAC forecast a run of 2.54 million chum salmon to Wally Noerenberg Hatchery (WNH), 634,000 fish to Port Chalmers, and 306,000 fish to Armin F. Koernig hatchery (AFK). Approximately 663,000 chum salmon (26%) are anticipated to be harvested out of the 2.54 million WNH run for cost recovery and broodstock. Based on the department’s wild chum salmon forecast of 516,000 fish, there is a potential common property harvest of 312,000 wild chum salmon. The department will manage for each district’s chum salmon escapement goal, aiming for each district’s long-term average, for a combined total of 200,000 fish.

The CCPF purse seine fishery will begin on Saturday, June 1 with a directed fishery targeting the enhanced chum salmon run to the AFK hatchery. A regular schedule of two fishing periods per week is anticipated; a 60-hour fishing period, from 8:00 a.m. Monday to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, and an 84-hour fishing period, from 8:00 a.m. Thursday to 8:00 p.m. Sunday. Commercial purse seine fishing opportunities in general district waters could commence as early as late June depending upon wild stock pink and chum escapement indices. Enhanced pink salmon returning to Valdez Fisheries Development Association’s Solomon Gulch Hatchery will support cost recovery fishing starting in late June, with subsequent commercial fishing opportunity being dependent upon cost recovery fishing progress and run strength. Enhanced pink salmon returning to Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation’s hatcheries will support cost recovery fishing starting in late July, with subsequent commercial fishing opportunity being dependent upon cost recovery fishing progress and run strength. Port Valdez will be closed to the CCPF north of a line from Entrance Point to Potato Point beginning on August 15. Valdez Narrows Subdistrict will open on September 3 to target surplus SGH coho salmon. The VFDA enhanced coho salmon forecast is 127,000 fish with an anticipated CCPF harvest of 67,000 fish.

Additional information regarding the 2013 commercial purse seine fishing season can be found in the 2013 Prince William Sound Salmon Fishery Information news release, which is posted at the Prince William Sound Management Area home page.

The forecasted Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run for 2013 is approximately 26.3 million fish. Based on the forecast, 16.6 million fish are potentially available for commercial harvest. Additional information can be found in the 2013 Bristol Bay Outlook (PDF) on the ADF&G website.

Upper Cook Inlet (UCI)
A run of 6.7 million sockeye salmon is forecasted to return to Upper Cook Inlet in 2013, with a harvest by all user groups of 4.9 million fish. The run forecast for sockeye salmon in the Kenai River is approximately 4.4 million fish, 903,000 sockeye salmon for the Kasilof River, and 363,000 sockeye salmon for the Susitna River. Additional information can be found in the 2013 UCI Outlook (PDF) on the ADF&G website.

Lower Cook Inlet (LCI)
Commercial fishing in Lower Cook Inlet (LCI) will begin on Monday, May 20 with a cost recovery fishery in Resurrection Bay targeting sockeye salmon returning to Bear Lake. Commercial common property fishing in LCI will begin on Monday, June 3 with set gillnet openings occurring in the Southern District, and purse seine periods in the Kamishak District. Further information regarding forecast returns of wild and hatchery released salmon may be found in the 2013 LCI Outlook (PDF) on the ADF&G website.

The 2013 preseason forecasts project a harvest of approximately 2,702,770 sockeye, 158,690 coho, 17,402,031 pink, and 963,719 chum salmon. About 20,000 Chinook salmon could be harvested incidentally in fisheries targeting other salmon species. Additional information can be found in the Kodiak Management Area Harvest Strategy (PDF) on the ADF&G website.

North Peninsula
The 2013 projected North Alaska Peninsula salmon harvest is 2,069,000 fish, comprised of 2,000 Chinook salmon, 1,672,000 sockeye salmon, 62,000 coho salmon, 109,000 pink salmon, and 224,000 chum salmon. Additional information can be found in the North Alaska Peninsula Salmon Management Plan (PDF) on the ADF&G website.

The 2013 total sockeye salmon forecasted run for the Chignik River watershed is 3,810,000 fish. Approximately 2,581,000 sockeye salmon are expected to be harvested in the Chignik Management Area. Additional information can be found in the Chignik Management Area commercial salmon fishery harvest strategy (PDF) on the ADF&G website.

Yukon River
Chinook salmon: The drainagewide run outlook based on the adjusted Canadian-origin model estimate, which attempts to account for low productivity since 2007, is 98,000–144,000 Chinook salmon. Thus, the 2013 Yukon River Chinook salmon run will likely be poor to below average. A Chinook directed commercial fishery is not anticipated.

Summer chum salmon: The summer chum preseason outlook is estimated to be 1.5 to 1.8 million fish. The 2013 run is anticipated to provide for escapements, a normal subsistence harvest, and a surplus for commercial harvest. If inseason indicators of run strength suggest sufficient abundance exists to allow for a commercial fishery, the commercially harvestable surplus could range from 500,000 to 800,000 summer chum salmon. The summer chum salmon directed commercial fishery is expected to be negatively impacted by the need to conserve Chinook salmon.

A directed summer chum salmon commercial fishery is anticipated in Districts 1, 2, Subdistrict 4-A, and District 6.

Districts 1 and 2: Under new regulations adopted by the board in 2013, the department may by emergency order authority allow the use of dip nets, beach seines, and gillnets of 5.5 inch or smaller mesh size not exceeding 30 meshes in depth as commercial gear. The intent is to provide for summer chum directed fishing opportunity while reducing the incidental harvest of Chinook salmon. These gear types could be employed near the first quarter point of the summer chum salmon run. Fishermen employing dip nets or beach seine gear are required to immediately release incidentally caught Chinook salmon back to the water alive. The department plans to meet with commercial fishermen prior to the season to discuss these new gear types and will work closely with them to monitor their use throughout the season.

Commercial opportunity using gillnets will likely be delayed until after the midpoint or later of the Chinook salmon run in order to minimize the incidental harvest of Chinook salmon. The potential for incidental harvest of Chinook salmon will be investigated on a daily basis using test fishing indices, sonar passage estimates, and travel time information. Initially, gillnets will be restricted to 5.5 inch or smaller mesh size not exceeding 30 meshes in depth. It is anticipated that incidental harvest of Canadian-origin Chinook salmon should be minimized after the third quarter point of the run, as fewer Canadian bound Chinook salmon are present in the lower Yukon River. During this timeframe, a transition to the more traditional, 6.0 inch or smaller mesh size restriction would likely occur to target summer chum salmon. Participation is expected to increase during these periods.

The sale of incidentally caught Chinook salmon in chum salmon directed commercial fishing is prohibited. Incidental Chinook salmon caught in gillnets may be taken home for subsistence use.

Subdistrict 4-A: A market for summer chum salmon is expected in Subdistrict 4-A. Management of summer chum salmon will be dependent on available surplus, fishing effort, buyer input regarding market quality and processing capacity, and monitoring of the fishery inseason. In Subdistrict 4-A, the department is planning to use emergency order authority to close the commercial set gillnet fishing season and immediately reopen the season during which only a fish wheel may be used. The fish wheel shall be attended at all times while it is in operations, and all Chinook salmon caught must be returned to the water alive immediately. This regulatory authority could allow commercial fishing for summer chum salmon to occur as early as June 22-24.

District 6: In District 6 the department now has the option to use emergency order authority to close the commercial set gillnet fishing season and immediately reopen the season during which only fish wheels may be used. The fish wheel shall be attended at all times while it is in operations, and all Chinook salmon caught must be returned to the water alive immediately. This new regulatory authority could allow commercial fishing for summer chum during times of Chinook salmon conservation. Directed summer chum salmon commercial fishing opportunity in District 6 will be dependent on available surplus, fishing effort, buyer input regarding market quality and processing capacity, and monitoring of the fishery inseason. If a harvestable surplus is identified commercial fishing would likely occur later in July and could extend into August.

Fall chum salmon: The 2013 forecasted fall chum salmon run size is a point estimate of 1,029,000 fish with a range of 906,000 to 1,152,000 fish. This forecasted run size is above average for odd-numbered year run. Based on the forecast, it is anticipated that escapement goals will be met while providing normal subsistence fishing activities. Commercial harvest, depending on run size, could range from approximately 355,000 to 600,000 fall chum salmon. Commercial harvestable surpluses will be determined inseason and opportunity provided where commercial ventures exist.

Coho salmon: The 2013 coho salmon run is anticipated to be below average to average. Commercial harvest, depending on run size and fall chum salmon management, could range from 40,000 to 70,000 fish.

Kuskokwim
There have been no commercial salmon openings this season. Commercial salmon fishing is anticipated to begin in early July to target sockeye and chum salmon. Commercial fishing is anticipated to be closed during the majority of the Chinook salmon runs due to anticipated below average returns.

The weir escapement projects are scheduled to begin operating in late June. The Bethel Test Fishery project will begin operating on June 1.

Norton Sound
The 2013 commercial harvest outlook for Norton Sound is 40,000 to 70,000 chum salmon.

Kotzebue
The 2013 commercial harvest outlook for Kotzebue Sound is 225,000 to 250,000 chum salmon.