Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Commerce bypasses governors’ top picks for North Pacific Council seats

July 2, 2026 — In an uncommon move, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce selected the second-choice nominees submitted by the governors of Alaska and Washington for two open seats on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, bypassing both governors’ preferred candidates.

The appointments, announced June 26 as part of 22 selections across the nation’s eight regional fishery management councils, name Forrest Bowers of Alaska and Chad See of Washington to three-year terms beginning in August.

For Alaska’s open seat, Gov. Mike Dunleavy had nominated Märit Carlson-Van Dort, chair of the Alaska Board of Fisheries, as his first choice. Bowers, who currently serves as acting director of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADF&G) Commercial Fisheries Division, was listed as the governor’s second choice.

Bowers brings more than 30 years with ADF&G, beginning as a seasonal technician in Kodiak before serving nearly a decade as deputy director of the Commercial Fisheries Division. He succeeds Rudy Tsukada, chief operating officer of Coastal Villages Region Fund, who is completing his first three-year term on the council.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Alaska golden king crab TAC rises 13 percent for 2026-27 season

June 26, 2026 — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced a 2026-27 total allowable catch (TAC) of approximately 4.74 million pounds for Alaska golden king crab, a 13 percent increase from last season’s 4.19 million-pound harvest limit, according to a June 24 release from seafood supplier Keyport LLC.

The increase comes through adjustments across the fishery’s two Aleutian Islands management regions. The TAC east of 174° W longitude, which represents the core of the fishery, will decrease slightly from 3.32 million pounds to 3.184 million pounds. West of 174° W longitude, however, the TAC will increase from 870,000 pounds to 1.558 million pounds.

Golden king crab is managed across the eastern and western Aleutian Islands, with harvest limits allocated among Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ), Community Development Quota (CDQ), and the Adak Community Allocation (ACA) program.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Copper River opener will launch Alaska’s 2026 salmon season

May 8, 2026 — While trollers in Southeast Alaska catch king salmon almost year-round, mid-May marks the official start of Alaska’s salmon season as sockeyes and kings run to the Copper River near Cordova.

The Copper River District commercial salmon drift gillnet fishery will open at 7:00 am on Friday, May 22, for a 12-hour fishing period. The standard commercial fishing schedule has two evenly spaced fishing periods per week, with the first period typically starting on Mondays. Fishing effort, harvest, passage, and escapement trends will inform managers’ decisions throughout the fishery, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. (ADF&G)

The 2026 Copper River sockeye salmon commercial harvest forecast is 728,000 fish, which is on par with the 10-year average of 733,000 fish.

The Chinook salmon total run forecast of 33,000 fish is 27 percent below the 10-year average of 45,000 fish and no harvest predictions are provided.

ADF&G said that depending on the relative strength of the sockeye and Chinook salmon runs, more management measures may be necessary to provide additional fishing opportunity on sockeye salmon while minimizing Chinook salmon harvest.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

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