Commercial harvesters on the celebrated first Copper River opener in Alaska caught some 27,100 sockeyes, well below anticipated, but state fisheries officials said Friday, May 23, that there is a lot of room for the run to build.
"We will get a pretty good read on the early run next week as fish move from the district into the river," said Jeremy Botz, a fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) in Cordova, on Alaska's Prince William Sound. The ADF&G forecast for the Copper River spoke to a robust run of sockeyes and weak run of kings, and indeed the first harvest of kings stood at 1,100 fish, at an average weight of 13 pounds, while sockeyes averaged 6 pounds, Botz said.
About 360 fishermen holding gillnet permits were estimated to have participated in the opener, earning an average ex-vessel price of $7.25 per pound. Silver Bay Seafoods had initially announced $7 a pound, but Trident declined to say what their opener price would be. Ex-vessel prices may vary depending on where the catch is delivered and how the fish are iced.
A spokesman for the Anchorage seafood shop 10th & M Seafoods said they expected first delivery of Copper River sockeyes and kings on Saturday, May 24. The catch will sell at retail for $26.95 a pound for headed and gutted (H&G) sockeyes and $34.95 a pound for fillets, plus $51.95 a pound for H&G kings and $68.95 a pound for fillets, he said.
Veteran harvester Jerry McCune, former president of Cordova District Fishermen United, characterized the run as "not too bad", but added "it wasn't a killer either.
"There are fish in the river, and it's building every day," McCune said. "It's hard to tell if the run is late."
Earlier this year many Cordova harvesters were up in arms when the Alaska Board of Fisheries voted to set the Copper River opener back a week, expressing worries that a lot of their potential harvest would go upriver to sport fishermen.
"I think we are going to have a good season," said McCune. "I sure hope so. I'm pretty optimistic right now. I need four or five more days of counting and then I can tell."
Rich Wheeler of 60° North Seafood in Cordova acknowledged that the first run was going slow, but also noted that the buyers weren't there because of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Another 12-hour opener was anticipated Monday and Wheeler said he expected most buyers would wait until Tuesday to make their purchases.
