The Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADFG) on Thursday released its forecast for the 2021 salmon season, projecting a sharp rise in the overall harvest due mainly to the odd-year return cycle of pink salmon.
The pink salmon catch, which is far higher on odd years because of the lifecycle of the species, is projected to be more than double the total catch for 2020.
The agency forecast a total harvest of 190.1 million fish in 2021, of which 124 million are expected to be pink salmon, both wild and hatchery-supplemented.
