Too Many Pink Salmon?

Perhaps if we humans had not started havesting so many forage fish this would not be a "problem".  This is another great attempt to find a "natural scapegoat" for the long term consequences of 7 billion people demanding fish.


a teaser on forage fish over-harvest.  surprisingly like a lead-up to the Monterrey Bay sardine collapse, but global...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/science/earth/forage-fish-catches-should-be-reduced-report-says.html?_r=0


but otherwise, yeah too many salmon, pink salmon to be exact, so stop hatchery efforts for chinook because they lead to dead birds...  I wonder who paid for this shat?

My first thought when I red tat was what is this leading to?

I was talking with a co-worker last week who spent some time living in Alaska.  He fished for salmon a ton.  He said if the pinks still had sea lice on them, they were okay, but not great.  As soon as they hit freshwater, he called them "dog food".  I didn't ask him about smoking them though.

I was talking with a co-worker last week who spent some time living in Alaska.  He fished for salmon a ton.  He said if the pinks still had sea lice on them, they were okay, but not great.  As soon as they hit freshwater, he called them "dog food".  I didn't ask him about smoking them though.

I've never been on rivers in AK when the humpies were fresh. I have caught more zombies than I ever needed to though. Usually as bycatch when after Dolly Varden.  We did keep a couple when fishing the salt out of Whittier - they were cleaned and cooked that day. Not horrid. But there's so much better out there...

If there are too many pink salmon, then why do we keep pumping them out of hatcheries?  Fully 2/3 of the Alaska hatchery egg production is pinks.

Heck, the commerical harvest of pink salmon in Prince William Sound is 20-30M a year, the majority of which are hatchery raised.

-Allen

I have had some of my most fun times ever, fising pinks at creek mouths.  In the salt, but they're all bunched up.  Ultra light lures only.  BBBBBBBlast.

i'll search out a couple pix and I have a good video I think of Tall Paul hot on the pinks in Foggy Bay.

fun fun.  ButI didn't eat them.

Bushy

2013 Alaska Pink Salmon harvest was 219 million fish (out of 272 million total salmon).  The total value of pink salmon was $277M.

-Allen

Alan,

Humpy roe is supposedly the good stuff, making the finest Ikura. I think that's a part of "Why so many hatchery pinks?" in AK.

Scott

Alan,

Humpy roe is supposedly the good stuff, making the finest Ikura. I think that's a part of "Why so many hatchery pinks?" in AK.

Scott

Chum eggs are supposedly better (the "right" size), and hence why Chum as the #2 hatchery produces salmon.

-Allen

2013 Alaska Pink Salmon harvest was 219 million fish (out of 272 million total salmon).  The total value of pink salmon was $277M.

-Allen

Only $1.26 per fish.  If the average dressed fish was, say, 4 pounds, then that'd be about $0.32/pound.  Hey, the price has more than doubled since four years ago  .

We will  never ever ever     have too many salmon

I don't think too many of us would cry if we caught a pink!

I am such a pink salmon magnet in Alaska. I can catch the heck out of them when trying to target other salmon species. I think I have done 10-15 in a row before getting a silver and nailed almost 30 of them on a king salmon trip. Never did get the king, just had fun catching "bait" for the next day.

I couldn't find my Tall Paul Vid. But, did notice this cool pink pic from Ketchikan.  Alone at a creekmouth at the end of the road.  Ultralight throwing small KastMaster 30-40 50 fish?  Dreams......

I couldn't find my Tall Paul Vid. But, did notice this cool pink pic from Ketchikan.  Alone at a creekmouth at the end of the road.  Ultralight throwing small KastMaster 30-40 50 fish?  Dreams......

Wow! 30 pinks would be en epic day of salmon fishing.

dreams indeed. Sounds like a blast, that is a beautiful buck