Frederick Sound chum stays below average as pink salmon rebound

Chum salmon harvests in Frederick Sound have run generally below their 10-year average for a fifth statistical week, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's latest test fishery update. Pink salmon harvests at Point Gardner topped the recent 10-year average after four very low test periods.

The F/V Obsession fished Point Gardner on Friday, July 24, the fifth test of the season. Pink salmon harvests there ran above the 2016 through 2025 average. Chum harvests did not. At Kingsmill, fished Monday, July 20, pink salmon came in at the 10-year average and chum again below it. The department cautions that Kingsmill results are generally less conclusive, because that test fishery catches fish heading north to Frederick Sound as well as south to Rowan and Tebenkof bays.

The two projects index pink and chum abundance returning to Section 9-B and District 10, and the department uses them to gauge run strength and timing. Katie Taylor, the Petersburg area management biologist, is the contact listed on the announcement.

ADF&G tempered the week's result. Test fish results indicate the early pink salmon run is poor and the middle run is still yet to be determined, the department said. Week 30 harvests fell below the long-term averages of 1,077 pink salmon per set at Point Gardner and 891 per set at Kingsmill. The department also noted that the four periods preceding this week were among the lowest pink salmon test fish harvests on record. Alaska News previously covered the fourth update, which found pink harvests a fraction of the 10-year average and run strength characterized as well below average. Sex ratio sampling continues to point in two directions. "The generally below average sex ratios for chum salmon indicate an earlier than average run timing," the department said, while pink salmon ratios suggest a later than average run.

Chum restrictions elsewhere in Alaska

Chum conditions and management measures differ by region, but restrictions tied to chum abundance are in place elsewhere in the state. On the Kuskokwim, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed closing federal public waters within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge to gillnets and to Chinook and chum harvest by all users through July 31. That closure blocks all users from using gillnets to harvest Chinook and chum salmon in key subsistence fishing areas, disrupting customary and traditional fishing practices and food security for Kuskokwim River subsistence fishers, primarily Alaska Native communities. On the Yukon, ADF&G restricted subsistence fishing for fall chum and coho beginning Sunday, July 26, limiting harvest access for subsistence families until managers determine runs are strong enough.

The final two test fisheries of the 2026 season are scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, and Friday, July 31.