Outlook for salmon fishery in the Russian Far East in July 2008

The salmon season is traditionally the main fishery in July. Many fishing vessels usually switch from fishing Alaska pollock, bottomfish and other species in order to receive and process salmon on the grounds.

According to the scientific forecasts, after 20 July catches of chum salmon in the Bering Sea area will dramatically increase with the rates to peak in the closing five days of July. The daily harvest from one seine will amount to 15 metric tons with the maximum catch to be at 30 tonnes. In that period the fishermen normally harvest 70%. In the same area in the first half of July the scientists forecast peaking runs of sockeye with the stock to stop running on 25 July. The fishery in the waters of the Tumanskaya River will be conducted from 11 to 31 July 2008 as the stock is running late this year.

East coast of Kamchatka

As compared to June, both the runs and the fishery of chum salmon will be stronger and the average daily rates will amount to 40-50 tonnes. The bycatch of chum salmon in the sockeye fishery in the Kamchatka Bay will grow as well. Catches will contain large chums of 54-70 cm.

In July the sockeye fishery in the East Kamchatka will be practically finished.

As usual, starting from late July coho salmon will begin running into the rivers of East Kamchatka.

West coast of Kamchatka

Despite strong runs of pinks forecasted in the West Kamchatka in the current year, the July harvest of the species will not exceed 20% of the TAC, the scientists say.

In the end of the first decade of July sockeye runs are expected to grow stronger in the south of the Kamchatka coast, and the catches will be dominated by sockeye from the Ozernovsk class. By the closing ten days of the month the average daily catches will reach 100-120 tonnes.

Dynamics of pink salmon and chum salmon catches in the north coast of the Sea of Okhotsk will not show any large changes.

Abundant runs of pink salmon into the fixed seines zone on the Iturup Island have started already in July. The main fishery of the species will be conducted on the coast from the Vinogradnyi Cape to the Gromkiy Cape.

In the first ten days of July the summer chums are expected to start running for spawning from the estuary to the Amur River, and those runs are forecasted to finish on 10-15 August 2008.

Dynamics of average producer prices for salmon products, RUB per kilo