2016 Copper River Season Opens with 25,000 Sockeye Landed
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] By Peggy Parker - May 18, 2016
The first 12-hour opener on the Copper River Flats landed an estimated 25,000 sockeye salmon and 1,400 chinook.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s forecast for the first opener was slightly higher, at 33,000 sockeye, but the actual catch is well within the forecasted range.
The next opener will be 7 a.m. tomorrow, either for 12 or 24 hours. Cordova ADF&G will make an announcment on the time of the Thursday opener at 2 p.m. Alaska time today.
Escapement as of Monday was well above expectations, with over 9,000 salmon past the Miles Lake sonar station. Fish and Game’s estimate for that day was a cumulative 800 fish.
It is an early year for almost everything.
“Ice conditions in the Copper River were out super early this year, so the Miles Lake sonar has been counting salmon since May 8,” says Stormy Haught, Asst. Area Management/Research Biologist in Cordova.
“In addition to that, the Copper River/Prince William Sound...
To Read Full Story Login Below.