Global Chum Salmon harvest this year could land somewhere between 165,000 to 215,000 metric tonnes, (in-line with previous years averages). This variance is largely due to whether or not the Hokkaido Chum fishery will see another spectacular year like it did in 2022.

In Alaska, Keta landings have started their ascent earlier than previous years as over 2 million fish have already been harvested.

The pace of Keta landings are spread over the summer months and into the fall, so with the Alaskan forecast for 16 million fish, we’ll likely see another 13 million Keta harvested in Alaska from now until the fall.

Over in Russia, the Chum Salmon fishery has also begun.



Industry experts however are saying Russian Chum forecasts are overestimated again as Russia has failed to reach preseason level catches for the 4th consecutive year.



Last year, Russia harvested 73,000 metric tonnes of Chum Salmon from 27.2 million fish, and Chum Salmon is Russia’s second largest Wild Salmon fishery.

Washington state and Japan’s Hokkaido are the two main Fall Chum fisheries, and in a turn of events, both fisheries saw an abundant harvest in 2022.

Last year, Washington harvested about forty-one hundred metric tonnes of Chum from about 1 million fish - numbers not seen since 2017.

Runsize forecast for 2023 Puget Sound Chum looks similar to 2022.

The Hokkaido Chum Salmon stock saw an incredible recovery last year with Japan seeing over 85,000 metric tonnes harvested from 30 million fish in 2022 - numbers not seen since 2018.



We should get a pulse on the Hokkaido Chum forecast around July.

Our recommendation is to wait and hold as there is still plenty of inventory available at lower prices.



The pricing outlook for all Salmon species continues to be uncertain due to the amount of previous season inventory in freezers globally.

Our pulse is that all species will see strong pricing out of the gates, but then weaken quickly.



Start talking to your Tradex Foods Representative about your Summer Salmon Program and stay tuned for more upcoming Salmon updates by subscribing to our 3MMI.

--- If you are not already, be sure to subscribe to our Weekly Seafood News Update using the signup form below.