Salmon notes

• This is a down year in terms of catch volume. With the fishing season substantially concluded, the statewide harvest stands at 87.2 million salmon. That's far below the state's preseason projection of 125.5 million. The last time Alaska's annual salmon harvest finished below 100 million fish was nearly four decades ago, in 1987.

• Much of the shortfall owes to a poor pink salmon harvest. About 56 million pinks were expected, but the industry thus far has taken only 38 million. Regionally, results vary widely. Kodiak has slightly exceeded projections with a catch of 12.8 million, while Prince William Sound is experiencing disaster with only 3.8 million pinks taken on a forecast of 18.6 million. Most Prince William Sound pinks come from hatcheries.

• The statewide sockeye harvest lags projections by 24 percent, and the chum harvest is 41 percent behind.

• On the bright side, the weak harvest appears to be boosting prices for commercial fishermen. For example, the Southeast Alaska purse seine harvest is expected to exceed the 2016-25 average value of $56.5 million, with the Department of Fish and Game reporting salmon prices are "substantially higher than they have been for many years."

• Southeast Alaska trollers were expected to reach the limit of 33,000 treaty Chinook salmon by the midnight Friday closure of the second summer opener. Based on reported average prices and weights, each Chinook is worth about $97.

Salmon notes

• The Bristol Bay sockeye season is all but over, and the catch is 29.7 million fish. That's a decent tally but well short of the state's preseason forecast of 32.3 million. The Egegik and Nushagak districts led the way this year with each producing a catch of just over 9 million sockeye.

• Elsewhere around Alaska, lagging catches of chum and pink salmon are causing considerable worry. Statewide, the chum harvest was down 61 percent from 2025, and the pink catch was down by more than 90 percent in Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska compared to 2024, a historically low year in those regions, McKinley Research Group reported today for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

• The National Marine Fisheries Service is prohibiting commercial fishing for salmon in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone, effective at 7 a.m. tomorrow. The action is necessary to conserve coho, the agency says. Here are the latest Cook Inlet EEZ catch totals.

An 'average' pink salmon forecast

"The 2026 Southeast Alaska pink salmon harvest is expected to be near average, with a harvest forecast of 19 million fish," says this advisory announcement.

Kodiak's big pink year

This year's Kodiak pink salmon harvest was the second-largest on record at 34.6 million fish, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports in this salmon season summary.

Salmon notes

• The statewide harvest of all salmon species now tops 180 million fish. But the industry isn't likely to reach the preseason forecast of 215 million, largely because pink salmon catches have been disappointing. State forecasters predicted a catch of 138 million pinks, but the tally here at season's end is only about 110 million. Two of the state's main pink-producing zones — Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska — are finishing well below forecast, while Kodiak's catch is said to be above average.

• The current run size estimate for Fraser River sockeye is 9.3 million fish, three times the preseason forecast. But catches by all user groups remain conservative, totaling just over 1.1 million, according to the latest Fraser River Panel weekly report.

Southeast pink salmon forecast

The Southeast Alaska pink salmon harvest in 2025 is predicted to be in the "average" range at 29 million fish.

More details in this advisory announcement.

A gruesome year for Prince William Sound seiners

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game today released its summary of the Prince William Sound salmon season, and many of the results are ugly.

"The 2024 season marked the worst pink salmon harvest since 1993 and the second-worst since the late 1970s when PWS hatcheries were established," the department said.

Total pink salmon harvest was 9.95 million fish, including a commercial catch of 5.07 million and 4.88 million taken for hatchery cost recovery and broodstock.

Hatchery pink salmon run failures punished purse seiners. Average permit earnings were $42,500 compared to a 10-year average of $203,000.

The 205 seine permit holders reporting at least one delivery was the lowest number since 2011.

"The last delivery was reported on Aug. 15, at least two weeks earlier than expected," the department said.

Please help?

As expected, this season's pink salmon bust is beginning to spawn calls for assistance.

State Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, chair of the House Special Committee on Fisheries, has sent a letter asking the governor to seek federal fishery disaster relief for Prince William Sound and other areas.

Salmon notes

Here's an update on the 2024 season, which is all but done.

• This will finish as a poor season, at least in terms of harvest volume. The statewide, all-species catch stands at 96.2 million fish. The season likely will finish with a harvest under 100 million for the first time in 37 years, since 1987, when the tally was 96.5 million.

• The Prince William Sound purse seine fishery closes today, perhaps appropriately on Friday the 13th. It's been a nightmare year for seiners with a catch of less than 5 million pink salmon, far below forecast. Expect pleas for disaster relief coming out of Cordova.

• Alaska never has produced many salmon north of the Arctic Circle, but this season's production was particularly paltry at Kotzebue. "The 2024 commercial harvest of 5,392 chum salmon was below the 1962-2023 average harvest of 231,196 chum salmon and the poorest harvest since the state started managing the Kotzebue District in 1962," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports.

• It wasn't gloomy everywhere this season. On Aug. 12, OBI Seafoods blew the cannery steam whistle in Petersburg to mark 100,000 cases of canned salmon produced.

Salmon notes

Here are a couple of items of interest from the salmon season so far.

• The industry has notched a productive season in Bristol Bay. The total catch stands at 30.8 million sockeye, well above the preseason forecast of 25 million. The fish, however, reportedly are quite small this year. Deckboss remains in the dark on prices. Evidently they were good, as we've heard no bellyaching from fishermen.

• The Prince William Sound seine fishery is struggling. The common property pink salmon harvest through July 26 was "very poor" at 3.9 million fish, or 68 percent below the even-year average for 2004-22, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports.

'Average' pink salmon harvest predicted

Details in this advisory announcement.

3,840 cases of pink salmon for Ukraine

A large donation of canned pink salmon has arrived in war-torn Ukraine, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute reports. Read about it here.

'Weak' forecast for Southeast Alaska pink salmon

Here's the announcement.

A pink plague on the Emerald Isle?

Here's a very interesting article out of Ireland regarding the spread of Pacific pink salmon.

'Weak' forecast for Southeast Alaska pink salmon

Details here.

Southeast pink salmon outlook

An "average" pink salmon harvest of 28 million fish is forecast for Southeast Alaska next year.

Southeast pink salmon outlook

Southeast Alaska can expect an "average" harvest of 23 million pink salmon in 2018, says this forecast just out from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Feds declare disaster for pink salmon fisheries

Here's the press release.

Strong outlook for Southeast pink salmon

The state is forecasting a strong harvest of 43 million pink salmon next year in Southeast Alaska.

That would be a big rebound from this year's poor catch of 18.3 million pinks in Southeast.

Does poor pink season constitute a disaster?

While fishing continues, it's evident the 2016 pink salmon season is a bust.

The statewide commercial catch stands at about 36 million fish, far short of the 90 million forecast.

The harvest is so poor that state Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, wants Gov. Bill Walker to declare a disaster, which could lead to some sort of relief for the industry.

Stutes further suggests giving fishermen a break on making their state loan payments this year.

Kodiak fisheries reporter Laine Welch has more details here.

Stutes chairs the House Special Committee on Fisheries.

In a letter to Stutes, the Walker administration says it's prepared to work with fishermen on loan restructuring or other assistance.

Disaster relief and loan forbearance is bound to hold some popular appeal. That could benefit Stutes, who is seeking re-election this year.

Her challengers include Kodiak independent Duncan Fields, who has fished salmon commercially and served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Government already is doing much to aid the Alaska salmon industry. In late July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it had purchased nearly $10 million in canned pink salmon for child nutrition and other food assistance programs.