Annual Salmon Production Report
Alaska Department of Revenue released its 2006 Annual Alaska Salmon Production Report in March. The annual 
report data is within the parameters of the Alaska Salmon Price Report (ASPR). The reporting threshold is one million pounds and the data includes only the six product forms specified in the ASPR.
The product-form mix of Alaska salmon production shifted substantially from canned to frozen in 2006. However, this is largely the result of species-specific harvest dynamics rather than a deliberate shift driven by industry and marketplace demand.
Pink salmon normally comprise the bulk of Alaska canned salmon production and with the harvest shortfall of pinks in 2006, there was simply less available for canning. Canned pink production dropped by 45 percent in 2006, but the product-form composition of the species remained stable at 40 percent frozen and 57 percent canned (compared to 56 percent canned in 2005).
While the pink harvest fell short in 2006, the Alaska chum harvest exceeded projection by more than 20 percent and ranks as the second-largest on record. Since the bulk of chum production is frozen H&G (over 70 percent) the strong chum harvest contributed to relatively high poundage in the frozen H&G column.
Fresh H&G production increased significantly, with most of the growth in pink and chum salmon. However, the production growth of fresh H&G is not fully reflected in ASPR sales volume, likely the result of area-specific confidentiality restrictions.
The growth in fresh and frozen fillet production slowed in 2006. Fillet production volume nearly doubled from 14 million pounds in 2003 to 25 million pounds in 2005. But in 2006 production increased by only 11 percent, to 27.8 million pounds.
Industry reports that a substantial number of salmon fillet lines have been added throughout the state for the 2007 season. While in-state fillet production may increase substantially in 2007 fillet production remained a fairly small portion of Alaska salmon production in 2006, about 6 percent.
