Hard to imagine we’re about to hit the 2020s. Our outlook for the coming summer is positive for king salmon. The kings were more abundant and bigger in 2019. The commercial trollers had a good fall of king fishing off Sitka which is about the best predictor for abundance in the following year. We see clear sailing with coho (silvers) stocks. Their numbers remain solid. Yes, their migratory behavior is hard to predict, but they show up eventually every year, sometimes as early as mid-June, sometimes we wait until later in July. Halibut stocks are far from a peak, but we continue to catch them consistently. The North Pacific is always in a state of flux with some stocks up, some down. But what a fun flux it is.
Stay Tuned
By mid-February we should have a clear picture of halibut and king salmon regulations for the coming season. Once these regs are set in stone, we’ll get them to you. A few things to keep in mind in the meantime:
- Long term sustainability of the resource depends on managing these fish to current levels of abundance. Sometimes a little short-term pain is required for long term gain.
- The fun is never limited. We’ve seen a lot of changes over the year, but people keep getting off our boats smiling most every day.