Improved silver and chum runs offset Yukon River's dismal king performance
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Fairbanks Daily Newsminer] by Jeff Richardson - September 15, 2014
The Yukon River is having strong runs of silver and chum salmon this fall, giving a boost to fishermen after another tepid summer for king salmon.
Sonar counts on the Lower Yukon at Pilot Station had tallied 233,000 silver salmon by Sept. 3, far above the historical median of 126,600 by that date. At that pace, more than 245,000 silvers are expected on the Yukon this summer.
Jeff Estensen, an area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said it should be the strongest run of silvers in at least four years, allowing for commercial and subsistence openings last week on the lower Yukon. Last year, only about 80,000 silvers passed the sonar at Pilot Station...
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