Wednesday February 5, 2025
The Cordova Times —
Fisheries officials are predicting a mixed bag of salmon returns in the Copper River and Prince William Sound this year.
State biologists are forecasting strong runs of sockeye salmon into the Copper River and pink and chum salmon in Prince William Sound, but a weak run of wild Chinooks into the Copper River.
The forecasts – released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Jan. 23 – calculated total runs for Copper River sockeye and Chinook salmon, Gulkana hatchery sockeye salmon, Coghill Lake sockeye salmon, and wild Prince William Sound pink and chum salmon.
For the Copper River, the forecast is for a range of 2.2 million to 2.9 million red salmon, which would be 55% above the 10-year average of 1.6 million fish. The Copper River Chinook run is forecast at 25,000 to 51,000 kings – or 25% below the 10-year total run average of 48,000 fish.
Adding in a forecast of an average run of 69,000 to 91,000 sockeyes from the Gulkana hatchery – the total Copper River run was estimated at a forecast of 2.3 million to 3 million fish, or 50% above the 10-year average of 1.8 million salmon.