Fish Factor: 2016 salmon forecast down 40 percent from last year

Alaska’s 2016 salmon harvest will be down by 40 percent from last year’s catch, if the fish show up as predicted.

The preliminary numbers released by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game call for a total catch of 161 million salmon this year; the 2015 harvest topped 268 million fish.

The shortfall stems from a projected big decrease for pink salmon. A humpie harvest forecast of 90 million would be a drop of 100 million fish from last summer.

Here’s the statewide catch breakdown for the other salmon species: for sockeye, the forecast calls for a catch just shy of 48 million, down by more than 7 mi...