Alaska's salmon season officially got underway Monday with the arrival of thousands of sockeye and king salmon at the Copper River near Cordova, and high prices were the talk of the town.
The first opener produced a catch of 25,000 sockeye and about 1,500 kings.
"It was pretty slow to start. Small fish, not too many of them," said Kelsey Appleton with Cordova District Fishermen United.
Weights recorded on several hundred samples after the 12-hour fishery showed sockeyes averaging just 4.2 pounds, 15 percent smaller than last year when fish size was the smallest in 50 years. Sockeye salmon normally average 6 pounds.
"It's bad for our economy and bad for our fishermen," said Rob Campbell, a biological oceanographer with the Prince William Sound Science Center. "It's not necessarily bad for our fish.
"It's just been astoundingly warm in the entire North Pacific for two or three years now, and for most cold-blooded things like salmon or plankton, in warmer conditions they tend to reach a smaller final body size," he said.
[What's driving Alaska salmon prices higher?]
Of course, the biggest fish story of the week was the price for the first fish — a whopping $6.50 a pound for sockeyes and $9.50 for kings. That compares to starting prices last year of $5.15 and $6.50, respectively.
"Crazy high prices, which is fantastic," said Appleton.
The prices typically drop as salmon runs progress across Alaska, but those starting prices are some of the highest ever. They should fuel optimism across the state — particularly after last season, when the value to fishermen fell by 40 percent.
Overall, Alaska's salmon fishery this year calls for a harvest of 161 million fish, down by 40 percent from last year. The shortfall stems from the huge decrease projected for pink salmon, which peak every other year. The harvest forecast of 90 million is a drop of 100 million humpies from last year.
Chowing down on fish
Eating trends show some big plusses for wild seafood, but will that make Americans eat more of it?
According to the NPD Group, an international market tracker, the top trend is consumers want to know where their food comes from. NPD credits seafood for improved traceability and local sourcing, two factors that will continue to boost sales.
People now know that some fats are healthy, such as those found in eggs, avocados and seafood.
And "consumers are seeking nongenetically modified foods in droves," the group said.
Demand for natural foods without additives or tweaked genes should benefit seafood.
Along that line, healthy and "light" entrees are expected to grow at a faster rate through 2018, another opportunity for seafood.
Technomic, another top market research firm, lists "trash to treasure" fish as its No. 3 seafood trend, as more restaurants serve less-known fish.
Both market watchers said more people are cooking fish at home, and that may boost consumption, which has stalled at less than 15 pounds a year per American.
Despite all of the conclusive health benefits of eating fish, a study last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed only one in 10 Americans follow U.S. dietary guidelines and eat seafood at least once a week.
Eating fish delivers a 36 percent reduced mortality risk from heart disease and a 12 percent reduction in mortality overall, according to the National Institutes of Health. It improves children's brain and eye development, helps with weight management and more.
So why are so many Americans taking a pass? According to The Washington Post, Americans have a fear of mercury and aren't crazy about cooking fish.
For those worried about mercury, government guidelines suggest not eating tilefish, shark, swordfish and king mackerel. Instead, salmon, shrimp, pollock, light canned tuna, tilapia, catfish, cod, sardines, sole and trout are recommended.
"Put in proper perspective, most of us should be more concerned with eating enough fish rather than worrying about mercury," the Post article said.
In terms of not buying more fish, a survey in the Journal of Food Service showed affordability was a top reason, and most people said they did not have the knowledge to select the best quality. The survey added that most people said they don't know how to cook fish.
"I can see that people understand that seafood is good for them. The hurdles come from knowing how to buy it and cook it and really understand the different varieties of seafood that they can include in their diet," said Linda Cornish, director of the Seafood Nutrition Partnership.
There's also a troubling decline of fish consumption in Japan, traditionally one of the world's biggest seafood-eating nations and a top Alaska seafood customer.
Seafood.com reports a new government study confirms Japan's seafood consumption has declined drastically, especially among younger generations.
The report says total per-capita seafood consumption has declined to 60 pounds per year, down 30 percent from a peak of more than 88 pounds in 2001.
The trend is especially prevalent among people younger than 40, who are increasingly replacing Japan's once most common food with meat, the report revealed.
Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based commercial fishing columnist. Contact her at msfish@alaskan.com.