A total statewide harvest of 213.2 million salmon is expected for this year's season.

Nearly 42 million or 20 percent of the projections are for sockeye salmon, approximately 10 million less than what was forecasted for 2018 and 8 million less than the 2018 preliminary sockeye harvest total.

Large volumes of Sockeye fillet inventory are still available at great price points, as ample supply has been driving the market down.

--- Chum salmon harvests this season are anticipated to be about 29 million fish, about 14 percent of the total species harvest.

This number is quite a bit stronger than last year's forecast of 21 million chum salmon, with preliminary havest totals for the season showing 20.3 million pounds harvested.

We saw a big market slide on price last season for Chum, as processors were holding large volumes of H&G and Russian pricing had dropped.

A bigger market shift is expected if supply increases as much as the forecasts show.

Alaskan officials are also indicating that if the projections are realized, the chum salmon harvests in 2019 would be the largest ever recorded for Alaska.

--- Pink salmon harvests are always stronger on odd-numbered calendar years.

Although the predictability is uncertain for the pink salmon fishery, 2019 forecasts predict 138 thousand pink salmon to land this year in Alaska statewide, which is almost on par with the last bumper year in 2017 of 142 thousand pinks. Only 41 thousand pink salmon landed last year, which was 58 percent of what was in the 2018 forecast.

Pink salmon pricing should be driven down by the increased supply, especially finished goods from China where Russian processors indicate holding large volumes of Pinks in Dalian.

--- And Finally, our TradexLIVE offer of the week is for IVP Sinbad Platinum Sockeye Salmon fillets.

We have 15,000 lbs of premium quality Sockeye salmon fillets available in Seattle for $7.75/lb USD.

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