February 25, 2020 — According to NOAA’s annual report on commercial fisheries landings, production and value, the top five species in order of value are:
- Lobster at $684 million
- Crabs at $645 million
- Salmon at $598 million
- Scallops at $541 million
- Shrimp at $496 million
Alaska produces the overwhelming majority of our nation’s wild salmon landings (more than a third of which comes from the imperiled Bristol Bay region), topping out at just over 650 million pounds of salmon worth $595 million in 2018. That means Alaska salmon alone takes that same spot as the top-value finfish in the nation.
Alaska pollock, which helped lock in Dutch Harbor as the top port by volume for the 22nd year running, is the sixth most valuable species on the list at $451 million in value for 3.4 billion pounds landed.