Saving Seafood

High fuel prices could hurt Kodiak’s salmon fishermen

June 5, 2026 — The high cost of diesel, fueled by the war in Iran, coincides with a projected weak salmon harvest for this summer.

Down at the dock in Kodiak’s St Paul harbor on a windy Tuesday in May, Darren Platt organized his boat, a 42-foot seiner called the Agnes Sabine, ahead of the upcoming salmon season.

“Before a season, you just tear everything apart, and then just desperately try to put it back together,” he said. “I’m still in the tearing everything apart phase.”

This time of year, Platt would normally be excited to hit the water. This summer though, he said he’s feeling apprehensive, mostly about the price of diesel.

“It’s probably going to be close to double what it was last year,” he said.

Platt is one of many who work on the water who are concerned about the price at the pump. Gas prices are still high as a result of the war with Iran, and even a small increase could make or break an already short season.

Last summer, Dave Kubiak, owner and operator of the fishing vessel Lara Lee, said he paid around $3.75 a gallon for fuel. But when he filled his tank on May 20, diesel was $6.70 a gallon, an increase of more than 80%. He calculated that filling the vessel’s tank from empty would have cost him nearly $10,000.

Read the full article at KMXT

ALASKA: ADF&G restricts Kodiak salmon fishing again this summer

May 20, 2026 — The salmon runs on the Karluk and Ayakulik rivers on the southwest side of Kodiak Island have faced strict restrictions over the past few years, and this year is no different. Subsistence fishing for Chinook in the Karluk river is closed all year while sport fishing for kings on the Ayakulik and Karluk rivers is closed until July 25.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced these closures earlier this year citing the need to “protect returning king salmon and ensure future fishing opportunities.”

The department has also closed the entire west side of the island to Chinook sportfishing again from May 1 to June 30 to protect the returning Karluk Chinook, which numbered less than 100 fish in both 2024 and 2025. Both Karluk and Ayakulik Chinook have seen record low returns over the past years.

Read the full article at KMXT

ALASKA: Kodiak commercial trawlers pause fishing while Board of Fisheries considers trawl proposals

March 19, 2026 —  The Kodiak-based trawl fleet is pausing its fishing for pollock in state waters for three days while the Alaska Board of Fisheries weighs in on proposed tighter restrictions for trawl fishermen, including monitoring of seafloor contact in and around state waters.

According to Rebecca Skinner, the executive director of the Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association, the local pollock trawl fleet temporarily stopped fishing by Tuesday morning, March 17, and will wait 72 hours before resuming. Skinner said by phone that her understanding is that the fleet made this decision to give some of its fishermen time to testify at this week’s state Board of Fisheries meeting in Anchorage without missing out on fishing.

The federal Gulf of Alaska pollock fishery “A season” opened in January with a total allowable catch this year of just under 140,000 metric tons, roughly 25% less than last year’s harvest, and is expected to go into April.

Read the full article at KMXT

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: US House candidates debate Alaskan fisheries management

October 30, 2024 — Candidates for the sole U.S. House of Representatives seat up for election in Alaska were able to make their positions on the state’s struggling seafood industry heard during the 2024 Alaska Fisheries Debate, hosted by the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce.

Incumbent U.S. Representative Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) touted her record on providing support to the state’s commercial fishing sector while pointing to the bills she has sponsored as a path forward for the industry.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: At U.S. House debate in Kodiak, candidates differ on future of Alaska fisheries

October 10, 2024 — A two-hour debate on Alaska fisheries issues turned contentious in its final moments as Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich criticized incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola over an ad stating that a Begich victory would mean “our fish are gone.”

The exchange was the lone heated issue between the two frontrunners in Alaska’s U.S. House election, which will decide one of only a few tossup races in the 435-seat House of Representatives. With the House closely divided between Republicans and Democrats, the winner of Alaska’s race is likely to help decide control of the House overall.

Tuesday’s debate was largely cordial and included an at-times-technical discussion of fisheries policy.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

More areas around Kodiak Island could become critical habitat for endangered North Pacific Right Whales

February 21, 2024 — The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is in the process of expanding the critical habitat of North Pacific Right Whales off the coast of Alaska. If finalized, the rare marine species could have further protections near Kodiak Island and other waters across the Gulf of Alaska.

It’s estimated that less than 50 North Pacific Right Whales exist today in a range that extends from Hawaii to the southeastern Bering Sea and beyond. The rare species of whale has been on the Endangered Species List since 1970 after historical whaling activities decimated the population.

Conservation areas for the whales already exist in parts of the Southeastern Bering Sea and a small area south of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska, totaling over 35,000 square miles. They were established 15 years ago in 2008, when the NMFS established critical habitat for the endangered whale.

But in 2022, two environmental groups: the Center for Biological Diversity and Save the North Pacific Right Whale, petitioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to add thousands more square miles to the animals’ critical habitat area in Alaska. NMFS announced its intent to expand those boundaries last fall after completing a year-long review.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

Alaska’s 2021 salmon harvest has blown past the season’s forecast

August 31, 2021 — Alaska’s 2021 salmon harvest has blown past the forecast and by Aug. 27 had topped 201 million fish, well above the 190 million projected at the start of the season.

The catch was bolstered by a surge of pink salmon to the three top-producing regions: Prince William Sound, Southeast and Kodiak, combined with strong landings of sockeyes.

“Pink salmon runs are over 95% complete, based on average run timing. Effort drops off quickly this late in the season, so it is difficult to predict where that harvest will end up,” said Forrest Bowers, deputy director of the Commercial Fisheries Division at the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game. “My guess is up to another half million late-run sockeye salmon and perhaps 10 million pink salmon will be harvested. If that occurs, we will end up with around 143 million pink salmon, 54 million sockeye, and 207 million total salmon harvested. 2021 could end up being the sixth-largest sockeye and sixth- or seventh-largest pink salmon harvest on record.”

Pinks are the “bread and butter” catch for Alaska salmon fishermen and total landings were approaching 137 million, well above the 124 million projected for this season.

At Prince William Sound, which had a catch forecast of about 25 million pinks, nearly 62 million had crossed the docks.

“Wild stocks are returning stronger than anticipated (to PWS) given the uncertainty about spawning success from the 2019 parent year which was negatively impacted by drought conditions,” said the weekly Fish and Game inseason summary.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Crab prices explode along with rising demand

June 24, 2021 — Crab has been one of the hottest commodities since the COVID-19 pandemic forced people in 2020 to buy and cook seafood at home, and demand is even higher this year.

Crab is now perceived as being more affordable when compared to the cost to enjoy it at restaurants, said global seafood supplier Tradex, and prices continue to soar.

That’s how it’s playing out for Dungeness crab at Kodiak and hopefully, at Southeast Alaska where the summer fishery got underway on June 15.

Kodiak’s fishery opened on May 1 and 76,499 pounds have been landed so far by just eight boats, compared to 29 last year. The Kodiak price this season was reported as high as $4.25 per pound for the crab that weigh just more than two pounds on average. That compares to a 2020 price of $1.85 for a catch of nearly 3 million pounds, the highest in 30 years, with a fishery value of nearly $5.3 million.

The pulls are skimpy though, averaging just two crab per pot. Kodiak’s Dungeness stocks are very cyclical and the fishery could be tapping out the tail end of a peak. Managers say this summer should tell the tale.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce