Togiak herring forecast

Once again, a huge volume of herring will be up for grabs this year at Togiak, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game setting a harvest quota of 41,163 tons for the sac roe fishery.

It's unclear, however, whether the industry has any taste for Togiak herring. The fishery was dormant in 2023 and 2024, and processors, purse seiners and gillnetters may stay home this year as well.

Huge government pollock buy coming, ASMI says

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to purchase up to $50 million of Alaska pollock, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute said in a press release.

"These USDA purchases provide food insecure Americans with high-quality, healthy and sustainable seafood protein," ASMI said. "They also support American fishermen, companies and communities currently struggling with low pollock prices due to reductions in demand and increased competition, mostly from Russia."

Legislative task force to meet again this week

Details in this press release.

Good news for our best crab

Scientists report that new research has "revealed more genetic diversity across Alaska's red king crab populations than originally documented."

This could make the species more resilient to climate change.

Circle salmon sales

Fledgling processor Circle Seafoods announced its frozen salmon fillets "have officially made their debut" in H-E-B stores across Texas and Sprouts Farmers Market stores nationwide.

Here's a picture of the pouched product.

'We are fishing on a depleted stock'

Homer commercial fisherman Michael "Buck" Laukitis is proposing a Pacific halibut rebuilding plan.

Five things to watch

As we enter the new year, we're looking for big news on multiple fronts. Here's a handful of items worth tracking.

• The National Marine Fisheries Service has a Jan. 11 deadline for completing a status review of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon. NMFS began the review after the Wild Fish Conservancy petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

• The halibut stock is struggling, and we'll get a new read on the situation when the International Pacific Halibut Commission convenes its annual meeting Jan. 27-31 in Vancouver, B.C. "Harvest limits in Alaska will all likely be reduced in 2025," the Fishing Vessel Owners' Association reports in its most recent newsletter. Bob Alverson is association's manager and an IPHC commissioner.

• What will become of the huge King Cove processing plant? The facility was idled with the financial collapse of Peter Pan. Last we heard, a working group was considering the plant's future.

• The legislative task force evaluating the Alaska seafood industry's economic troubles has been meeting since summer. Will anything substantive come of this effort? The Alaska Legislature begins a new session on Jan. 21.

• Inauguration day for Donald Trump is Jan. 20, and a new president is always consequential for the fishing industry. We're eager to see who the administration names to lead NMFS. And Trump's vow to impose sweeping tariffs could have a major impact on the seafood business.