Jeff Regnart

Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Division of Commercial Fisheries

Introduction
Division Overview
2014 Fishery Highlights by Region
Looking Forward

 Manage for sustained yield

Stock assessment and
applied research
Harvest management
Aquaculture permitting
Information services and
public participation

Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim

Highlights
2014 Yukon Chinook salmon run was better than
forecast.
2014 was the 2nd season during which dip net gear
was successfully used to harvest surplus chum
salmon on the Yukon River while allowing for
release of Chinook salmon.
The 2014 Kotzebue commercial chum salmon harvest of 633,000 fish and an exvessel
value of nearly $3 million stands out as the 2nd largest harvest on record in Kotzebue,
just missing the 1981 record harvest of 677 thousand chum salmon.

Norton Sounds strong salmon harvest was the areas best since 1998 and a record
exvessel value of $1.8 million.
Norton Sounds 2014 red king crab fishery had an exvessel value of $1.96 million,
making it the 4th highest fishery value!

Westward Region Highlights

Westward Region includes Kodiak, Chignik, the Alaska Peninsula, and Bering
Sea/Aleutian Islands areas and is home to the largest crab and groundfish
fisheries in Alaska.
In 2014, nearly 60 million pounds of Pacific cod were harvested in state
waters fisheries including around 17 million pounds from the newly created
Dutch Harbor Subdistrict fishery.
The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery is nearly complete with just shy of 10
million pounds harvested and a preliminary exvessel value of $61 million up
from 8.6 million pounds harvested for an exvessel value of $55 million in
2013.

Central Region
Highlights
The all species Bristol Bay harvest value of $196.6 million,
falling just shy of the all time record of $202 million in 1990,
and was Alaskas most valuable salmon fishery in 2014. The
Bristol Bay sockeye salmon harvest of 28.8 million fish was 61%
above the preseason forecast of 17.9 million fish.
Togiak, the states largest sac roe herring fishery had a value of
$1.26 million in 2014.
The Prince William Sound pink salmon harvest was 36.8 million
fish, slightly above the forecast level of 31.4 million fish, the
second largest even year harvest ever.

Southeast Region
Highlights
The 2014 Southeast Summer Dungeness crab season was the
most successful in recent history. With a preliminary harvest of
4.1 million pounds and a relatively high exvessel price of
$2.99/pound the total fishery value of $12.2 million is one of
the most lucrative in the fisherys history.
The Southeast Alaska pink salmon harvest was better than
expected with a harvest of 31 million fish. The preseason
forecast was 22 million pink salmon.

2014 Salmon Value by Species

Chum
10%

Chinook
1%

Chinook
4%

Chum
13%

Pink
17%
Coho
9%

2014 Salmon Volume by Species

Sockeye
34%
Sockeye
60%

Pink
46%
Coho
6%

Budget Issues and

Challenges
High exvessel prices and strong
market conditions suggest
increasing demand for Alaska
seafood.
DCF expects reduced funding in the
near-term future.
Our challenge will be to meet the
sustained yield mandate and
continue to provide new harvest
opportunity in difficult budget
climate.

 Bering Sea crab fisheries are currently underway with

TACs for both snow and Tanner crab up substantially
from 2013 and Tanner crab at a 20-year high.

Odd year pink salmon returns to PWS and Southeast

Alaska should both be strong.
Bristol Bay sockeye salmon should be strong in 2015
and if returns are as forecast, harvest could be among
the top five on record.

Thank You