Questions
Frequently asked
What this is, where the numbers come from, and what we will not say.
What is this?
A season scoreboard for the Alaska commercial salmon fishery: how far the harvest has come against the preseason forecast, area by area and species by species, updated through the season from ADF&G's Blue Sheet. It is built for fishermen, tenders, processors, marine lenders and coastal communities who want one read on where the season stands.
Where does the data come from?
ADF&G, all public. The live harvest is the Blue Sheet, ADF&G's preliminary in-season commercial catch report, updated through the season. The forecast is ADF&G's April Run Forecasts and Harvest Projections report. The ex-vessel prices are ADF&G's preliminary annual season-summary tables. Every number traces back to ADF&G.
What does the percent of forecast mean?
It is the cumulative harvest divided by ADF&G's preseason forecast, as a percent, a pace read on how far along the season is. It is not a good-or-bad call. A big number is income for a fisherman and supply for a buyer, so we report the pace and let you judge. Early in the season low percentages are normal: the run is still building.
Why don't you show in-season prices?
Because ADF&G does not publish them in-season. Ex-vessel prices are published as annual preliminary finals months after the season, and postseason adjustments and bonuses land later still. We show the last published season's prices, clearly labeled as a look back, and we never present a lagged price as a current in-season number. We do not invent a price.
What is included in the harvest totals?
Common-property commercial catch, the competitive gillnet, seine and troll fisheries, plus hatchery cost-recovery fish. Sport, subsistence and personal-use harvests are not included. The numbers are in thousands of fish, preliminary and subject to revision, and confidential cells are suppressed by ADF&G at source.
Why is a cell blank or an area missing?
A blank is a fishery that has not reported harvest yet, has no harvest, or has a cell ADF&G suppressed to protect a confidential business. We show a blank, never a zero we made up. Some areas ADF&G does not forecast for a given year, so their scoreboard is partial and we say so.
Is this fishing or market advice?
No. We report what has been harvested and what was forecast. We never tell anyone where to fish, when to sell, what a permit is worth, or where prices are headed. The forecasts and management actions are ADF&G's, reported as published. This is not fishing, financial or investment advice.
How current is it?
The Blue Sheet harvest is updated through the season, mid-May to September; a page's data-through date is the last harvest reading behind it. Off-season there is no live harvest, and the site says so and shifts to the forecast and last season's finals. The forecast is dated to its April publication, and each ex-vessel price to the season it reports.