Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Trump administration defends Biden-era rejection of Pebble mine by EPA

March 9, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Justice is defending a Biden-era veto of the Pebble copper and gold project, saying the Environmental Protection Agency properly exercised its authority to prevent adverse impacts to a “globally significant” fishery in Bristol Bay.

The Feb. 17 court filing by the Department of Justice continues the Trump administration’s opposition to the proposed mine, a departure from the president’s aggressive pro-development agenda that includes support of U.S. mineral production in Alaska.

The Pebble project sits on state land about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, near the headwaters of Bristol Bay, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.

Mine developer Pebble Limited Partnership brought the case in 2024, suing EPA over its decision to block the mine under a little-used provision in the Clean Water Act. The agency had said the mine would cause “unacceptable, adverse” harm to the valuable Bristol Bay salmon fishery.

The Justice Department said in its filing that the Pebble mineral deposit exists under streams, wetlands and other waters that are critical for supporting salmon in the watershed, “a largely undisturbed, globally significant economic, ecological, and cultural resource.”

“(Pebble Limited Partnership’s) mine plan calls for the disposal of large quantities of fill into waters of the United States that would destroy or comparably damage large areas of salmon habitat that are fishery areas,” the filing said.

Ron Thiessen, president of Pebble’s parent company, Northern Dynasty Minerals, said in a statement that the filing is “surprisingly short-sighted” and legally flawed.

Read the full article at Alaska Journal of Commerce 

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: Pebble Mine, halted by EPA order, gets support from national development groups

December 2, 2025 — Developers’ efforts to overturn the cancellation of a vast gold and copper mine planned for southwest Alaska are getting a boost from national mining and pro-business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

On Nov. 24 and Nov. 25, the Chamber and the National Mining Association filed separate friend-of-the-court briefs in the lawsuit brought by the developers of the proposed Pebble Mine against the Environmental Protection Agency, which vetoed the mine.

Neither group has intervened in the case against the EPA, but the briefs represent the groups’ support for the proposed mine and offer legal arguments that Judge Sharon Gleason could consider as she debates whether to move the project forward.

In 2023, the EPA invoked a rarely used “veto” clause of the Clean Water Act to say that there was no way that the proposed Pebble Mine could be developed without significant harm to the environment. The large mineral deposit is located at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, the most abundant sockeye salmon fishery in the world.

The administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, which supports the project, and the proposed mine’s developers, filed separate lawsuits in federal court to overturn the rejection, as did two Native corporations that work as contractors for the developers. Those cases have since been combined.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

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: 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: 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

WASHINGTON: Upper Skagit Indian Tribe celebrates huge rebound of Baker River sockeye

October 17, 2025 — Nearly 92,000 sockeye salmon returned to the Baker River this year. That’s a historic milestone for nearby tribes, state wildlife officials and the hydroelectric utility that caused the decline — and helped bring the fish back.

Scott Schuyler, the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe’s policy representative for cultural natural resources, has been watching the fish run for more than 40 years.

“We basically lost this run,” said Schuyler, a tribal member and elder. “Back in 1985 the run went down to 80-ish or so fish, which is basically extinct. And it was due to hydropower that caused their demise, and it was hydropower that helped fix the run to get to where we are today.”

Schuyler said the tribe once had a fishing village called S.báliuqʷ (pronounced ‘sih-’BALL’-ih-QUE’) on Baker Lake.

“That’s where people lived and died and fished and hunted since time immemorial,” he said.

Read the full article at KNKX

ALASKA: Alaska’s Bristol Bay sockeye run and harvest increased this year, with fish sizes a bit bigger

September 30, 2025 — The commercial salmon harvest in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, site of the world’s largest sockeye salmon runs, held a mixture of good news and bad news this year.

The run of sockeye salmon, also known as red salmon, exceeded preseason expectations and totaled 56.7 million fish, the seventh highest since 2005, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported in its preliminary summary of the summer harvest. The commercial sockeye harvest was also bigger than expected, totaling 41.2 million fish. That was 18% above the preseason forecast and 23% higher than the recent 20-year average.

The total amount of money paid to fishers delivering their catches totaled $215.3 million, about 7% above the 20-year average of $200.7 million, the department said in its summary.

The bad news is that while Bristol Bay sockeye salmon continued what has been a streak of huge runs — and while sockeye dominate the commercial harvest — other salmon species there continued to falter. Bristol Bay’s harvest of chinook, also known as king salmon, hit a 20-year low this year, totaling only 6,148 fish, compared to the most recent 20-year average of 33,469 chinook, the department reported.

Read the full article at Alaska Beacon

ALASKA: Alaska salmon harvest tops to 129 million fish

August 15, 2025 — Alaska’s 2025 commercial salmon harvest reached over 129 million fish through Aug. 12, with sockeye, keta and coho catches appearing on pace to reach total annual projections.

Those projected 2025 harvests would add up to 214.6 million salmon, including over 138 million pink, 52.9 million sockeye, 20.8 million keta, 2.3 million coho and 144,000 kings.

Data compiled by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game showed the statewide pink harvest at 62.3 million fish, followed by 51.3 million sockeyes, 14.5 million chum, 888,000 coho and 150,000 king salmon.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ANALYSIS: US Sockeye Prices Hold Firm as Bristol Bay Surges, Copper River Landings Drop

August 13, 2025 — Sockeye salmon remains a focal point in the US wild salmon market during the 2025 season, as stakeholders pay close attention to shifting dynamics across major production areas. The Copper River run, which is sought after as some of the first sockeye of the season and typically garners a premium in price, fell well short of elevated pre-season expectations this year. Initial forecasts had projected a harvest of 1.92 million fish—an “excellent” run that would have outpaced the five-year average by 55%. Instead, cumulative landings reached just 837,000 fish by week 31, marking a stark 56% deficit compared to projections. This puts the 2024 Copper River run squarely in line with long-term historical averages, rather than the anticipated boom season.

The resulting tight supply in this high-tier segment has kept pricing resilient, with the season closing out at an average of $6.75 per pound, up 3.85% from both 2024 levels and the rolling three-year average. Due to the limited availability, formal quotations for Copper River sockeye have now been suspended until next season.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com