November 10, 2025 — A report from Alaska’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development shows the state’s commercial fishing workforce is continuing to shrink, with the number of fishers working in the sector reaching a record low in 2024.
The state report found that the commercial fishing sector lost 443 jobs in 2024, a 7.6 percent drop from 2023. On average, there were 5,393 people employed in harvesting fish in Alaska per month in 2024, down from a high of 8,501 in 2015.