The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has published an overview of the 2022 Upper Cook Inlet commercial salmon season. All data is preliminary. The 2022 Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) sockeye salmon total run of 5.2 million fish was 6% greater than the preseason forecast of 4.9 million fish. The commercial salmon fishery harvest of 1.4 million salmon was 44% less than the recent 10-year average annual harvest of 2.5 million fish.
The 2022 ex-vessel value (a measure of the dollar value of commercial landings, usually calculated as the price per pound at first purchase of the commercial landings multiplied by the total pounds landed) of all salmon species was $12.3 million and was 53% less than the previous 10-year average annual ex-vessel value of $23.0 million. Of the five species of Pacific salmon harvested in UCI, sockeye salmon accounted for 91% of the total ex-vessel value over the past 10 years (Table 3). The 2022 Chinook salmon harvest of 2,278 is the lowest on record with a harvest of 341 East Side Set Net (ESSN) fish and 1,328 Northern District fish.
Escapement goals were met or exceeded in the six UCI sockeye salmon escapements monitored by the department in 2022. Three fell within the escapement goal range: Judd Lake, Larson Lake (Susitna bound stocks) and Packers Creek (Kalgin Island) and two systems exceeded the upper end of their escapement goals, Kasilof River and Fish Creek. The Kenai River sockeye salmon escapement will not be finalized until in river harvest is available in the fall of 2023. Using the average in river harvest upstream of the sonar it is estimated to be near the upper bound of the sustainable escapement goal (SEG) of 1.3 million fish.
In 2022, neither the Kenai River early-run nor the late-run Chinook salmon optimal escapement goals (OEG) were achieved. Of the three southern Chinook systems, the SEG was not achieved at two systems (Anchor River and Ninilchik River wild run), and the Deep Creek Chinook salmon run was not assessed due to lack of funding. In the Northern Cook Inlet region, the Little Susitna River Chinook salmon SEG was achieved, and the Deshka River Chinook salmon biological escapement goal (BEG) was not achieved. Chinook salmon escapements for the Susitna and West Cook Inlet areas are currently undergoing post-season analysis.
The UCI coho salmon assessments were incomplete in 2022. The chum salmon escapement goal was achieved in Chinitna Bay tributaries.
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