Another normal year expected for Bristol Bay sockeye salmon, Alaska biologists say

Alaska fishery biologists expect next year’s run of sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay — site of the world’s largest sockeye runs — to be about normal. The forecast for 2027, released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game last week, estimated a return of 49.31 million sockeye salmon in the coming summer season. That would support a harvest of 33.97 million fish, the department forecast said. The forecasted totals are about normal compared to the last 20 years, and would follow another normal run this year, when 45.7 million sockeye returned to the bay. But it would be 31% larger than the long-term average dating back to 1963, according to the department. This year’s forecast, like others produced by the department, includes a range of uncertainty. The run could be as low as 35.47 million and as high as 63.14 million fish, according to the department. Estimating future salmon returns “is inherently difficult and uncertain,” the department forecast said.

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