Saving Seafood

ALASKA: ADF&G forecasts excellent 2026 sockeye salmon run in Upper Cook Inlet

February 27, 2026 — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is forecasting an excellent sockeye salmon season in the Upper Cook Inlet this year, with an expected run of 7.6 million fish and available harvest of 5.6 million fish.

Though higher than average, that would still be notably lower than the surge of sockeye that returned in the 2025 run. The state estimated a 2025 run of 11.5 million sockeye, 4.6 million more than the preseason forecast of 6.9 million fish. According to ADF&G, commercial fishers were able to harvest 3.4 million sockeye in 2025 – 60 percent more than the average annual harvest over the last 20 years.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Pacific cod quota updated mid-season for Kodiak area fishermen

February 11, 2026 — Pacific cod fishermen in the Kodiak area and South Alaska Peninsula can now catch nearly 8 million pounds of fish during the current state-managed fishery. That’s after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced an updated quota last week on Feb. 5 in the middle of the 2026 season.

The guideline harvest level or quota went from 5.3 million pounds of cod ahead of the Kodiak area season opener to 7.9 million pounds on Feb. 5. That’s an almost 50% increase in the amount of fish that can be caught this season, which is split evenly between pot and jig fishermen.

Read the full article at KMXT

ALASKA: Alaska regulators forecast strong Prince William Sound pink salmon run for 2026

February 4, 2026 — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is forecasting both a strong pink salmon harvest and a strong chum salmon harvest in the Prince William Sound this year, with both expected to be 14 percent above the recent 10-year average for even years.

The official forecast predicts a wild pink salmon harvest of 3.9 million for the Prince William Sound, which would fall below last year’s 5.9 million pink salmon harvested.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Eastern GOA salmon trollers may keep groundfish bycatch

January 12, 2026 — Salmon trollers operating hand or power troll gear in the Eastern Gulf of Alaska may legally retain and sell bycatch of several species of groundfish taken incidentally during their fishery.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) officials on Jan. 2 identified those species as lingcod, demersal shelf rockfish and other rockfish, spiny dog, sablefish and other groundfish.

Read the full article at The Cordova Times

ALASKA: Strong 2025 sockeye run roughly doubles value of local commercial fisheries

November 25, 2025 — A new report from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game shows the value of Cook Inlet’s commercial sockeye salmon fishery almost doubled this year compared to last year. Fishermen caught more than $40 million worth of salmon across all species in both Upper and Lower Cook Inlet, according to preliminary harvest data released earlier this month.

Colton Lipka says there’s a simple reason for the spike. He’s the management biologist for Upper Cook Inlet’s commercial fisheries.

“The most meaningful reason for the large jump in the value is the large jump in harvest,” he said.

That jump is mostly thanks to sockeye. Commercial fishermen caught more than $36 million worth of sockeye in Upper Cook Inlet this year. That’s up from less than $20 million last year, and from a little over $14 million the year before that.

Read the full article at KDLL

ALASKA: Regulators expect near average Southeast Alaska pink salmon season in 2026

November 21, 2025 — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and NOAA Fisheries are forecasting a near average pink salmon harvest in Southeast Alaska next year, with similar numbers to the last two seasons.

The official forecast predicts a harvest of 19 million fish, which would be at the low end of what the department considers an average harvest, and slightly below what commercial fishers harvested in the 2025 season.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Alaska officials forecast another strong Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run in 2026

November 14, 2025 — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has forecast another strong run of sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay next year, but the estimated number of returning salmon is still well below average for the last decade.

“A total of 45.32 million sockeye salmon (with a range of 31.12 million to 59.52 million) are expected to return to Bristol Bay in 2026. This is 26 percent smaller than the most recent 10-year average of 61 million fish and 21 percent greater than the long-term average of 37.4 million fish (1963–2025),” ADF&G announced.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Prince William Sound commercial season valued below average at $90M

November 12, 2025 —  State fisheries officials are estimating the Prince William Sound commercial salmon harvests to be valued at $90.99 million this year, still 3% less than the 10-year average.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) season summary released on Oct. 31 said the near average value can largely be attributed to Eastern District hatchery pink salmon, Copper River District sockeye salmon, and Port Chalmers Subdistrict remote release hatchery chum salmon commercial fisheries – plus hatchery cost recovery chum and pink salmon fisheries.

A total of 410 drift gillnet, 27 set gillnet, and 216 purse seine commercial permit holders – including 177 primary and 39 secondary – fished in at least one fishing period, according to ADF&G.

The following was released by the Cordova Times

ALASKA: 2025 Alaska salmon harvest valued at $541 million

November 5, 2025 — Alaska’s 2025 commercial salmon harvest totaled 194.8 million fish, valued at approximately $541 million — a significant increase in both catch and value compared to the previous year, state fisheries officials announced Nov. 4.

Preliminary figures released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) show that the 2025 harvest increased by 88% from the 2024 total of 103.5 million fish, which was valued at $304 million. The statewide ex-vessel average price per pound for all salmon species also rose compared to 2024.

Sockeye salmon accounted for about 58% of the total value ($315 million) and 27% of the total harvest (53 million fish). Pink salmon comprised 21% of the value ($114 million) and 61% of the harvest (119 million fish). Chum salmon contributed 14% of the value ($78 million) and 10% of the harvest (20 million fish). Coho salmon made up about 4% of the value ($21 million) and 1% of the harvest (2 million fish).

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Southeast Alaska’s commercial red king crab fishery opens Nov. 1

October 30, 2025 — Southeast Alaska’s first competitive commercial red king crab fishery in eight years opens on Saturday.

Ten different areas will be open for the fishery. They’ll be managed individually based on how much crab are available in each spot.

State regulations require at least 200,000 pounds of harvestable crab to be available for a commercial opener in the region. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) announced earlier this fall that over 211,000 pounds of crab are available this season.

Red king crab in Southeast Alaska is a low-volume, high-value commercial fishery with just 59 permit holders. Commercial openings have been few and far between, with just one in over a decade. The approaching fishery marks a highly-anticipated comeback.

Read the full article at KFSK