Saving Seafood

Retail prices for 2026 Alaska salmon are still a wild card

May 1, 2026 — Given an Alaska Department of Fish and Game 2026 harvest prediction of 125.5 million salmon, down 36 percent from 197.4 million a year ago, forecasts on retail prices still remain a wild card.

The forecast for 56 million pink, 49.7 million sockeye, 17.2 million chum and 2.4 million coho compares with 2025 forecasts of 120 million pink, 52.7 million sockeye, 21.7 million chum and 2.7 million coho salmon.

While rumors are out there that salmon prices will rise because of the increased cost of fuel, nothing is settled yet, said Tito Marquez, manager at 10th & M Seafoods, a popular Anchorage seafood shop.

“We are still waiting to see how the season plays out for Alaska and Russia,” said Simon Marks, a research analyst at McKinley Research Group in Juneau, Alaska. “We usually get information on Russian pinks much later in the year.”

Current fisheries articles don’t suggest that dramatic changes are said Gunnar Knapp, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and Economic Research. While hardly definitive, it is an indication that nothing is going on that is either hugely positive or negative news, he said.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

ALASKA: Yukon River Chinook salmon face steep decline amid disease surge and environmental challenges

April 28, 2026 — Yukon River Chinook salmon are headed for another dismal year, according to preliminary estimates predicting the 2026 run will remain near historic lows ahead of April’s official forecast.

Fisheries managers estimate approximately 25,000 Canadian-origin Chinook will return this year, according to Zachary Liller, Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Arctic, Yukon and Kuskokwim region research coordinator.

That would mirror the poor runs of 2024 and 2025—a devastating decline from historical averages exceeding 100,000 fish annually.

The Joint Technical Committee—made up of Alaskan and Canadian researchers and management biologists—will present its official 2026 forecast to the Yukon River Panel at its April spring meeting.

Read the full article at KTUU

ALASKA: Alaska salmon harvest projected down sharply in 2026

April 15, 2026 — A draft report by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game indicates a lower statewide harvest of 125.5 million salmon this season, compared to last year’s tally of 194.8 million fish. That adds up to 69.3 million fewer salmon, a decline of nearly 36 percent.

The preliminary data show drops in all projected catches except for Chinook salmon.

Comparisons by species show that for 2026, the projected Chinook harvest is pegged at 197,000 compared to 181,892 in 2025.

For sockeye salmon, the harvest forecast of nearly 50 million compares to more than 52.6 million last year.

Coho catches are expected to top 2.4 millon, down from nearly 2.5 million.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: All gear catch limit for SEAK Chinook salmon jumps to 207,400 fish

April 8, 2026 — Alaska fisheries officials have boosted the 2026 preseason all-gear catch limit for Southeast Alaska (SEAK) to 207,400 treaty Chinook salmon, up from 133,500 kings a year ago.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced on Tuesday, March 31, that the target will be 205,300 kings, compared with 130,840 kings in 2025.

The 2026 target includes a 1 percent reduction from the treaty catch limit that will serve as a buffer to avoid exceeding the all-gear limit and payback provisions of the treaty.

The SEAK all-gear catch limit is based on measures of Chinook abundance using the abundance index output from the Pacific Salmon Commission Chinook model, as required by the treaty.

The overall status of SEAK Chinooks has been characterized by ADF&G by a long-term decline in abundance, with many wild stocks classified as stocks of concern due to their inability to meet escapement goals. While hatchery produced fish provide some harvest opportunities wild stocks face significant pressure, prompting strict, fluctuating management regulations.  Many Chinook salmon caught in this area are not native to Alaska, requiring complex, internationally managed quotas.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

DOJ sides again with conservationists to block Pebble Mine

March 13, 2026 — A lengthy Department of Justice (DOJ) brief in defense of a veto on the Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska has opponents of the mine elated and Northern Dynasty Minerals in Vancouver, Canada, promising further legal action.

The Feb. 17 filing in U.S. District Court in Anchorage stands firmly behind the Trump administration’s 2020 decision to deny mining permits for the copper, gold and molybdenum prospect in Southwest Alaska bordering on the world’s largest run of wild sockeye salmon.

The EPA’s decision exercised its authority under the Clean Water Act to prohibit and restrict discharges related to mining the Pebble deposit, based on scientific and legal analysis emphasizing protection of salmon habitat and ecological resources.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists have forecast a return of 45.32 million red salmon to Bristol Bay in 2026, 21% above the long-term average of 37.4 million fish.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

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