Alaska's 2012 salmon harvest and value came in well below last year, dropping 21% and 30%, respectively.
According to preliminary state tallies, the value of the salmon catch totaled nearly $506 million at the docks this summer on a statewide catch of 124 million fish. That compares to a 2011 take of 177 million salmon valued at just over $641 million.
A breakdown shows that the 2012 Chinook harvest of 333,000 was worth $17.6 million; sockeyes came in at just over 35 million fish, valued at nearly $246 million; the coho catch of 3 million rang in at about $22.5 million; pinks totaled 67 million fish valued at over $105 million; and the catch of 18.3 million chum salmon was worth $114.5 million at the Alaska docks.
