If you're not ready to rub salt in your wounds, skip this next paragraph: University of Washington’s Fisheries Research Institute published their preliminary forecast for Bristol Bay's 2024 season and it's not great. They're predicting a total run of 38.9 million sockeye and a harvest of 26.4 million. That compares pretty poorly to this year's harvest of 39.4 million sockeye and run of 53.3 million, and is 32% below the 10-year average run.
Having said that, a Bristol Bay permit sold at $135,000 this week, up from last week's sale at $130,000, but down significantly by any other recent comparison. We have a current offer of $135,000.
In Kodiak, a surge of pinks has pushed the harvest over 22 million pinks, closing in on the preseason forecast of 26.2 million. Kodiak has already surpassed forecasts for reds, chums, and Chinooks. Those permits haven't started to move yet.
The total statewide harvest has surpassed the preseason forecast, and harvests are expected to drop off pretty quickly as processors quit buying salmon in the coming days.
The Southeast commercial red king crab and blue king crab fishery will be closed for the 2023/2024 season due to low stock assessments.
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