The 2019 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run of 56.5 million fish was the fourth largest in recorded history, with harvests racking up the second largest numbers on record, according to preliminary data from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.
It was the fifth consecutive year that the sockeye run exceeded 50 million fish and was 5 percent above the 39 million average run for the latest 20-year time period.
The commercial harvest of the species rocketed 65 percent above the 26.1 million pre-season forecast to 43 million, the second largest harvest on record.
Ex-vessel value for the Bristol Bay run hit a record-breaking $306.5 million (€277.3 million) across all species, more than double the 20-year average of $124 million (€112.3 million).
The preliminary harvests numbers for other species are: 30,579 kings, 1.4 million chum, 75,517 coho, and 5,680 pink salmon.
The 44.5 million harvest of all salmon species was also the second largest in the history of the fishery behind the 45.4 million fish harvest in 1995. The sockeye salmon harvest of 43 million ranks second behind the 44.2 million fish harvest of 1995.
