The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has released positive salmon forecasts for 2016’s summer.
Area Management Biologist Pat Shields says 2016’s sockeye forecast is encouraging for commercial fisher people.
Shields: “The Kenai forecast is up from the last couple of years, it’s actually about 4.7 million fish we expect to come back to the Kenai, and about somewhere between 800,000 to 900,000 fish to the Kasilof. So that’s more fish in 2016 to the Kenai and less to the Kasilof.”
The forecast puts commercial fishing management for local fishing into the upper tier, meaning there will be regular fishing periods with the potential for extra periods to be added.
Shields says although the forecast calls for “less” sockeye returning to the Kasilof River than last year, the projected range is around average run numbers but appear lower because of the above average runs over the last few years.
The 2016 Kenai River late-run king salmon forecast projects about 30,000 fish, with over 22,500 of those expected to be counted in-river.
According to the Department’s release today, that means 2016’s management plan for the commercial, sport, and personal use Upper Cook Inlet fisheries will be based once again on the Kenai River Late-Run Sockeye Salmon Management Plan.
Click here for the full Department forecast released today.