Cook Inlet Sockeye Salmon Season Begins, Feds Set Limit 60% Higher Than Last Year

This week saw an increase in sockeye landings on the Copper River and an early jump in chum salmon landings in Prince William Sound. On Monday, the statewide tally of wild salmon landings clicked over to above one million. The most recent total of 1.3 million includes 535,000 sockeye and 667,000 chum salmon.  

Yesterday, the Cook Inlet EEZ salmon season began with a total allowable catch (TAC) of 800,126 sockeyes.  

That total breaks down into a TAC for the Kenai River...

North Pacific Council Delays Action on Bering Sea Chum Salmon Bycatch Due to Funding Uncertainty 

At the end of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s June meeting, the panel issued a two-paragraph statement titled “Budget Concerns and Effects on Future Council Meetings,” that described their critical funding situation. 

“To date, the Council has received only 46% of its operating grant funding from NOAA for 2025, which is not typical,” the June 9th statement read. “Although the Council anticipates receiving another installment of its grant in the coming weeks, that amount is uncertain and it may not be...

Council Adopts “Housekeeping” Version of Pelagic Trawl Definition for Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska 

By a unanimous vote held yesterday, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted changes to the definition of pelagic gear that skirted the issue of its use on the sea floor. Pelagic trawls are used by the pollock fleet in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. In recent years, frequency of those nets touching the sea floor, particularly in the Bering Sea, have been found to be as much as 85% according to scientific reports commissioned by the Council.  

That has concerned...

Secretary Lutnick Commits to Meeting with Alaska Seafood Industry Leaders 

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick says he will join U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in sitting down with leaders of the Alaska seafood industry to discuss trade issues with Russia and ways that the Trump Administration can help chart a path forward. 

Speaking at a hearing this week held by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Murkowski highlighted the importance of fair-trade practices for Alaska’s fishermen. In response, Secretary Lutnick reinforced the administration’s trade policy of protecting fishermen, who he...

ASMI Releases 2024 Annual Report Highlighting Global Impacts and Market Challenges 

The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) has released its 2024 Annual Report, reflecting on partnerships, investments and challenges within the Alaska seafood industry. 

Throughout 2024, ASMI worked to promote Alaska seafood in 36,000 retail stores and 18,000 restaurants across the U.S. – but not without its challenges.  

A Difficult 2024 

According to the August 2024 NOAA Fisheries Alaska Seafood Snapshot Report, the Alaska seafood industry spent much of last year in recovery mode, after suffering a $1.8 billion economic loss from...

Over 27,000 Sockeye and 1,000 Chinook Salmon Netted in Copper River’s First Opener on May 22

For the first time in recent history, the iconic Copper River salmon season opened about a week late for the fleet based in nearby Cordova.

Rather than May 15, state salmon managers delayed the first opener until the 22nd to allow more Chinook salmon through to their spawning grounds in the Copper River watershed. In 353 deliveries during a 12-hour opener, drift netters delivered 27,368 sockeye, 1,083 Chinook, 189 chum salmon, and one pink salmon. The fishery began at 7 a.m. local time...

Wild Fish Conservancy Sues NMFS for Missing Deadline on Alaska Chinook ESA Decision

The Wild Fish Conservancy, an organization based in Duvall, Washington, filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, or NOAA Fisheries) on May 8, 2025, for missing a deadline under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to submit a full review on the status of Chinook salmon in the Gulf of Alaska.

The review, a massive endeavor, as the Gulf covers 600,000 square miles and includes Chinook salmon rivers from Southeast Alaska across to the Aleutian Chain, is ongoing.

National Marine Fisheries Service Assistant Administrator for...

“I’m Starting to Get Real Upset,” Sullivan’s Frustrated Call for Fisheries Surveys in Alaska

Last week, Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, pressed Mr. Paul Dabbar, the nominee who will likely be the new Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce, on fisheries stock surveys in Alaska. 

Sullivan pointed out that if staffing and approved funding from the Department are not prioritized, there will be no fishing. Sullivan also demanded that Dabbar and Commerce officials work promptly with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to sign the pending maintenance contract for the Kodiak...

Copper River Opens May 22 with Projected Catch More Than Twice the 10-Year Average

The opening of the Copper River salmon season signals the start of another salmon year in Alaska. This year, the Copper River will open on May 22, a week later than historical tradition, with a much higher sockeye run than in recent years, which justifies a commercial harvest forecast of 1.92 million fish in the Copper River alone. That prediction is 2.3 times the 10-year (2015–2024) average of 824,000 fish.

Copper River Chinook salmon, which has been decreasing for many years across most...

Alaska Seafood Industry, Lawmakers, and Media Urge US to Cool Down Trade War and DOGE Cuts

Two of Alaska’s leading seafood trade associations and the State House of Representatives issued plain-spoken opposition to President Trump’s trade policies this month, while Alaska Public Media President Ed Ulman testified to the importance of public news and broadcasting in a US House hearing on Tuesday.

A March 11 letter from Matt Tinning, CEO of the At-Sea Processors Association and Julie Decker, President of the Pacific Seafood Processors Association, was sent to Catherine Gibson, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Monitoring and...

Alaska's 2024 Salmon Season Sees Many Lows, with Five Fishery Disasters; 2025 Looks Better

Alaska’s 2024 salmon fishery was not only the third lowest in total fish harvested for the past 38 years (1985-2023); it was also the lowest on record for total pounds harvested.

The fishery includes both wild runs and hatchery returns, as well as the consistently abundant Bristol Bay wild salmon return and the disastrously low returns in other major river systems.

In the 2024 Alaska Salmon Fisheries Enhancement Annual Report, which was released earlier this week, the hatchery portion of the 2024 salmon season was...

Pacific Halibut Fishery Opens March 20 to Reduced Catches

The 2025 Pacific halibut fishery kicks off on March 20 in regions spanning from the West Coast and British Columbia to the far reaches of Alaska’s Bering Sea. And once again, all users – commercial fishermen, sport charters, anglers and subsistence – will get smaller takes of the prized fish as the Pacific stock continues to flounder.

The coastwide “total removals” of halibut allowed for 2025 is 29.72 million pounds, a drop of 15.76% from 2024. For commercial fishermen, a catch limit of 19.7 million pounds is a decrease of 18.02%...

Alaska Fisherman Sentenced to Prison for Ordering Crew to Kill Endangered Whale, Illegal Catches

A Southeast Alaska fisherman was sentenced to six months in prison for falsifying fishing records and ordering his crew to kill an endangered whale.

Dugan Paul Daniels, 55, of Coffman Cove, tried to take the endangered sperm whale by having a crewman shoot the whale and attempting to ram the whale with his fishing vessel in March 2020.

Daniels documented the encounter in writing and through text messages sent from a GPS communication device. Some of the messages stated he wished...

NMFS Uses Early Genetic Detection Methods for Bitter Crab Disease Amid Low Bering Sea Crab Stocks

Amid unprecedented low abundance levels for Tanner crab and snow crab in the Bering Sea, scientists from the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS, or NOAA Fisheries) have been utilizing sensitive genetic detection methods to establish earlier detection of bitter crab disease.

The ailment, which has recently impacted the Bering Sea’s historically large Tanner crab and snow crab fisheries, is caused by microscopic parasites that infect crabs, leading to increased crab mortality rates. Infected crabs are known to taste bitter, hence the name of the disease.

NOAA scientists were able to use these...

North Council Sets Options for Reducing Chum Salmon Bycatch in the Bering Sea

Alaska’s Pre-Bristol Bay Salmon Landings Modest Compared to Pre-Season Forecasts 

As of last Saturday, landings of sockeye salmon in the Copper River District totaled 274,400 fish, delivered during the first seven fishing periods since the season opened May 22, 2025. That number is significantly less than the Alaska Department of Fish & Game’s anticipated harvest of 969,000 fish for that period. 

The trajectory of the fishing periods trace the path of a roller coaster. The first period’s harvest was 28,000 sockeye. The second period, which started May 26, netted 52,400 sockeye. Five days after that, the third...

Alaska’s Murkowski and Maine’s King Reintroduce the Working Waterfronts Act 

Last Friday, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Angus King (I-ME), reintroduced the Working Waterfronts Act, 16 months after it was introduced in the last Congress.  

The bill includes more than a dozen provisions aimed at boosting the workforce, shoreside infrastructure, energy availability, food security, and overall economies of coastal communities in Alaska and across the country. The bill will also support efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change on coastal communities and strengthen federal conservation research projects. 

Two and a half years ago Senator Murkowski...

NOAA Fisheries Reports a 24% Drop in Staff From Six Divisions Across the Alaska Region 

Tomorrow the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council will hear the report from the Alaska Region (AKR) NOAA fisheries that 28 our to 115 federal employees have left the region since the Council’s April meeting, resulting in a total of 30 staff removals since President Trump’s inauguration. 

The staff losses come from the Sustainable Fisheries, Protected Resources, Restricted Access Management, Information Services, Operations Management, Habitat Conservation Divisions and from NOAA General Council Alaska Section. 

Three long-time and highly visible NOAA workers...

No Second Opener on Copper River This Week, But Prince William Sound Opens for Seiners 

Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced yesterday that the Copper River District will remain closed for the rest of this week to aid struggling Chinook salmon to move upriver to spawn.  

ADF&G has estimated that 21,000-31,000 Chinook must be allowed to reach the upper waters of the Copper for the population to remain sustainable.  

According to harvest data and in river abundance indicators, salmon managers say the return so far continues to be...

New NOAA Research Suggests that Alaskan Salmon Sought Temporary Refuge During Marine Heatwaves

The NOAA Alaska Regional Office recently released new research indicating that Pacific salmon in the Gulf of Alaska used the inshore waters of the Icy Strait as a temporary buffer during marine heatwaves.

Researchers found that salmon likely gravitated towards the Icy Strait’s cold, low salinity waters, seeking refuge during these marine events, which occurred in 2014-2016 and 2019.

According to NOAA, prior studies also found connections between the survival and growth rates of juvenile Pacific salmon to oceanographic conditions and food availability in the marine...

Northline Seafoods Pays More Than $1.37M Bond to Release Seized Salmon Vessel

On May 6, Sayak Logistics (d.b.a. Northline Seafoods) paid more than $1.37 million for the release of its seized vessel, the Hannah, which had been confiscated by federal authorities due to outstanding welding bills owed to Leo’s Welding and Fabrication, LLC, in excess of $1.2 million.

This development comes after a federal judge in Washington state issued a warrant on April 30 for the arrest of the vessel, given its outstanding debt with Leo’s Welding. The Washington-based welding company performed work on the Hannah...

Alaska’s Silver Bay Joins GSSI as Funding Partner

The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) recently announced that Alaska-based Silver Bay Seafoods joined GSSI as a Funding Partner. 

“Sustainable fishery management is critical to the success of our fishermen, and company, and the enduring strength of our partnerships with fishermen, communities, and industry across Alaska,” the company said in a statement yesterday. “Silver Bay Seafoods is enthusiastic about this new partnership with GSSI. The GSSI benchmark plays a critical role in seafood certification by extending formal recognition to robust, effective, and credible seafood certification programs...

NOAA Helps Two Alaskan Communities Solve Snow Crab Delivery Problem in Bering Sea

The Alaskan cities of Saint Paul and Unalaska, with an assist from the agency that manages federal fisheries in the national Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), may now process 1.5 million pounds of snow crab caught north of Saint Paul Island, at Unalaska, with tax benefits going to Saint Paul. 

Unalaska, near Dutch Harbor, is located on the Aleutian Chain. Two hundred miles northwest are the Pribilof Islands, the largest of which is Saint Paul, home of Trident Seafood’s large crab processing plant. That plant has been closed... 

New Study Shows Wild Alaska Sole’s “Impressive Levels” of Omega-3s and Other Key Nutrients

New findings from a recent study by ISO-certified lab Exact Scientific revealed higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids for all species of Wild Alaska sole (also known as flounder) than previously thought.

According to the study, two 4- to 5-oz servings of Wild Alaska sole provide up to 1,885 mg of omega-3 fatty acids, satisfying the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation of 1,705 mg of omega-3s per week for a healthy diet. Unlike many other fish that are also...

Final 2025 Alaska Groundfish TACs Show Drop in Greenland Turbot, Slight Increase in Pollock

The total catch limits have been finalized for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI), with the biggest year-over-year (YOY) decline in Greenland turbot and yellowfin sole.

In all, BSAI total allocable catches (TACs) for 2025 remain at two million metric tons for over 20 species, from the perennially abundant Alaska pollock to the smallest volume-landed shortraker rockfish.

In 2025, the pollock limit increased by 75,000 metric tons (mt) over 2024’s TAC to 1.375 million mt in the Bering Sea. For the...

Silver Bay Partners with BBEDC to Purchase Former Icicle Stake in OBI Seafoods

Silver Bay Seafoods is set to acquire a stake in Alaska seafood processor OBI Seafoods, purchasing the share previously owned by Icicle Seafoods, a subsidiary of Canadian seafood giant Cooke.

The deal involves a partnership between Silver Bay and the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation (BBEDC), which acquired a 50% stake in OBI (previously Ocean Beauty Seafoods) in 2007. Silver Bay will also garner more processing power within the wild Alaska salmon sector.

BBEDC and Silver Bay said that the partnership...

Alaska House Leaders Oppose Governor’s Plan to Allow Fish Farms, Dunleavy Responds in Video

The debate over whether to lift a 35-year ban on fish farms in Alaska continued yesterday. On Friday, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy proposed HB111, which would keep the ban on salmon farming but allow Alaskans to raise other finfish, in closed water systems, potentially for sale. 

Yesterday, Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, issued a written statement after reading the bill.

“Alaska’s commercial fishing industry, our coastal communities, and fishing families across the state are suffering through historically...

Dunleavy Proposes New Legislation to Allow Finfish Farming in Alaska

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy introduced legislation that, if passed, would allow finfish farming in inland, closed-system bodies of water. The move would end, at least in part, the state's 35-year ban on fish farming.

The bill, HB 111, doesn’t allow salmon farming and prohibits the cultivation of pink, chum, sockeye, coho, chinook, and Atlantic salmon. It also requires that all finfish be sterilized so they wouldn’t be able to reproduce if an escape occurred.

Furthermore, the legislation requires any potential farm to be enclosed within a natural...