Here is the seafood news for Monday July 21st, 2014 --- We are one or two weeks away from sockeye salmon hitting the coast for the Fraser River commercial fishery and the anticipated atypical run is causing pricing uncertainty. Buyers and sellers are waiting to see what happens in B.C. before pricing is determined. Processors that are in need of cash flow are offering estimated prices for current inventories, but these are subject to numerous conditions. This season is the 4-year return of the 2010 bumper crop, where over 28 million sockeye salmon returned to the Fraser River - the highest ever on record. The Pacific Salmon Commission released a forecast last week of 22.9 million fish and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is estimating anywhere between seven million and 70 million fish could be caught. It is likely that this will be the second highest ever return on record. The Fraser River Panel also met last week for an update on the Juan de Fuca test fisheries, and so far only Stuart River system sockeye has been caught. However, this test fishery ultimately has no value as there will not be a commercial harvest of early Stuart sockeye. Early Stuart catches begin near the end of June, but the majority of the Fraser sockeye timing is mid-August, when as much as 200,000 fish are caught in a day in the Juan De Fuca Strait. Water temperature can also affect the sockeye return and recent reports from DFO show current temperatures are around the 30 year average, but are predicted to get as high as 18 degrees celcius, which typically causes decreased swimming performance. --- Moving up to Alaska, the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run continues to exceed catch expectations. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecasted a run of almost 27 million fish this season. As of July 16th, ADFG counted a total salmon run of 39.65 million in the Bristol Bay region, and the commercial harvest through that day was 28.22 million fish. This has well surpassed the 2013 run of 23 million fish. A majority of this harvest will be destined for cans, other areas will be fresh. Buyers are seeing a lot more fresh market pricing than frozen at the moment.

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