Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust secures federal grant to strengthen data collection capabilities

October 6, 2026 —  The Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT), a Sitka, Alaska, U.S.A.-based fisheries advocacy organization, has received a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant for USD 293,000 (EUR 260,479) to expand its fishery data collection capabilities across 20 salmon troll fisheries in Southeast Alaska.

According to an ASFT release, the organization is planning to work with Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A.-based fishing data firm Real Time Data’s (RTD) application called “Deckhand,” which allows salmon trollers to collect and aggregate catch and observation data on a daily basis.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Alaska troll fleet to expand electronic logbook, data collection

October 5, 2026 — The Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT) has received a $293,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to expand electronic logbook and oceanographic data collection aboard Southeast Alaska salmon troll vessels.

The project will put data collection tools aboard 20 Southeast Alaska troll vessels, where fishermen will record catch information while deploying temperature and depth loggers. Paired with satellite connectivity, the system will allow information on catch composition and ocean conditions to be transmitted regularly during the fishing season.

The goal is to provide fishermen, researchers, and fishery managers with near real-time information that could improve stock assessments and support more adaptive fishery management decisions. For participating trollers, the electronic logbook will also provide a daily fishing record and a way to compare variables that may be affecting their catch.

The effort draws from an earlier era of industry-led data collection. From 1971 to 1991, Southeast Alaska trollers participated in a voluntary paper logbook program, recording similar information and sharing it with researchers and fishery managers.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Southeast economy heats up: NOAA ship arrives in Ketchikan as federal contracts fuel shipyard growth

October 5, 2026 — The NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson has arrived at the Ketchikan Shipyard for a major modernization project, bringing a $95.4 million federal contract with it. Employment at the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority-owned facility is expected to approach 200 workers by the end of the year.

Operated by JAG Ketchikan LLC, the shipyard is building a growing portfolio of federal vessel work. The Oscar Dyson project, awarded to JAG Alaska Inc. in June 2025, follows a separate $99.6 million NOAA contract for modernization of the research vessel Henry B. Bigelow, announced by AIDEA in June.

The two contracts represent approximately $195 million in federal vessel modernization work, supporting demand for skilled trades, engineering, electrical, mechanical and fabrication expertise in Southeast Alaska.

According to AIDEA, the Oscar Dyson arrived the day before JAG hosted a shipyard tour for attendees of the 2026 Southeast Conference. Regional civic, business and economic development leaders were able to see the vessel and the facilities supporting the shipyard’s expanding workload.

“The arrival of NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson is another visible sign that the Ketchikan Shipyard is building momentum and competing for important federal maritime work,” said AIDEA Executive Director Randy Ruaro.

“The partnership between AIDEA and JAG at the Ketchikan Shipyard has been incredibly successful in a very short time since JAG took over operations,’ he said. “This is exactly the kind of activity AIDEA has worked to support — more vessels, more skilled jobs and more long-term opportunity for Southeast Alaska.”

The Oscar Dyson contract runs through Dec. 5, 2027. NOAA expects the vessel to return for the 2028 field season after a yearlong maintenance period following its 2026 research season.

Commissioned in 2005, the ship collects data used to manage Alaska pollock, one of the world’s largest commercial fisheries.

The overhaul includes replacing the propulsion system with variable-speed Tier 4 generators, installing quieter air-conditioning motors, and replacing pumps, fans, cranes, fire detection equipment and radars. The project will also increase the number of single-person staterooms. NOAA says the improvements will strengthen fuel efficiency, operational safety and the vessel’s ability to support research in Alaskan and Arctic waters.

Read the full article at The Alaska Story

ALASKA: Managers use last year’s fishery to set Southeast Alaska’s red king crab harvest goals

October 2, 2026 — Southeast Alaska’s first consecutive commercial red king crab fishery in decades opens Nov. 1.

Expectations for the season are underpinned by knowledge from last year’s fishery.

“I definitely think guys are excited. I think they know what to expect after last year,” said Adam Messmer, regional shellfish biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Messmer said the upcoming fishery will be managed much like last year, with some changes based on what fishermen and state managers saw that season.

“We got a little bit better handle on where crab was coming out of, and where crab wasn’t coming out of, and where there was effort,” Messmer said.

Read the full article at KFSK

ALASKA: Juneau salmon troller takes helm of United Fishermen of Alaska

September 30, 2026 — The United Fishermen of Alaska, a trade association for commercial fishermen statewide, hired a new leader. Juneau-based commercial fisherman Thatcher Brouwer started as executive director of the organization on Sept. 15.

Outgoing executive director Tracy Welch said she left UFA after roughly five years as the executive director to take over as commissioner of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission earlier this year. She started as one of two commissioners of the commission back in May, joining the existing commissioner Rick Green. Her predecessor at CFEC Glenn Haight stepped down from the position in February.

Brouwer has been a commercial fisherman for over 20 years, according to a press release UFA posted on Sept. 21. During those two decades, he said he fished the Kodiak setnet fishery for a season. He has also fished the Southeast pot shrimp and salmon trolling seasons and halibut and black cod longline fisheries.

Read the full article at KMXT

ALASKA: Neets Bay Hatchery in Southeast Alaska opens first chum fishery in nearly a decade

September 29, 2026 — When Petersburg fisherman Bob Martin arrived at Neets Bay for the chum salmon opener, he didn’t have a great feeling.

“ I got there in the dark and it looked like a small city with all the lights of all the boats that were staged and ready for the 5 a.m. opening,” he said.

About 30 boats were crowded into the bay for the historic commercial opener. Martin said he was also worried about the quality of fish he saw along the shoreline.

“They looked pretty far gone, and I wondered if there was gonna be anything for us,” he said.

But within minutes of putting out his net, it was filled with fish. Totes and totes of fish.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

ALASKA: Southeast gets rare back-to-back red king crab season

September 11, 2025 — Commercial fishermen in Southeast Alaska will get another shot at red king crab this fall, marking the region’s first back-to-back fisheries in more than two decades.

 The 2026/27 Southeast Alaska commercial red and blue king crab fishery will open as a competitive fishery at 10 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, with a regionwide guideline harvest level of 213,076 pounds, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G).

It will be the second consecutive year the Southeast fishery has opened following several years without one. The last time the region saw consecutive commercial red king crab fisheries was from 2001 through 2003.

“So, you know, 20-plus years since we’ve had fisheries back to back,” Adam Messmer, ADF&G regional shellfish biologist, told KFSK.

This year’s 213,076-pound guideline harvest level is slightly higher than last year’s harvest level. ADF&G developed its estimates by surveying seven bays and assessing the available crab stock. Messmer said this year’s consecutive opener is being supported by a population increase in several bays.

Readv the full article at National Fisherman

ALASKA: AOOS: Home of Alaska ocean data

September 3, 2026 — Bordered by the Pacific and Arctic oceans and the Bering Sea, Alaska is home to the richest fisheries in the world, and the source of half the wild fisheries harvest in the U.S.

Managing the fisheries of the 900,000 square mile EEZ, or exclusive economic zone, surrounding the state effectively requires massive amounts of data that are often collected by different entities, public and private, using different methods. Harvesting the bounty safely and economically also relies on information about weather, waves, ice conditions, stock migration patterns, and more.

To gather and share the data being collected to support Alaska’s marine economic and subsistence activities, the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) was founded in 2003 and started operating in 2004 as one of the regional hubs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). IOOS was formally established in 2007 and continues to expand in its role as an information portal on many fronts.

“It’s a lot to manage,” says AOOS’ executive director, Sheyna Wisdom. “If you look at California, for example, they have two regional hubs, and they’re both on the Pacific. Ours are very spread out, and if you look at the Arctic, it doesn’t have the same information needs as Southeast.”

Besides marine traffic, water quality, and other projects, much of the AOOS budget of over $4 million goes into funding research that supports fisheries and coastal communities that depend on fisheries.

“What we do is collect information and make sure it is available to the people who need it,” says Wisdom. “With the Alaska Sea Grant, we co-host the bi-monthly Alaska Marine Policy Forum where the public gets updates on marine policy issues. We also facilitate several collaboration networks to connect people across Alaska, such as the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network or the Alaska Ocean Acidification Network. We take our role as a connector very seriously.”

Read the full article at National Fisherman

ALASKA: Alaska salmon catch swells to 29.5 million

July 16, 2026 — Alaska’s commercial salmon catch jumped from 21.2 million to 29.5 million for the seven days through July 14, as retail prices generally held, with 24% of the projected annual harvest now met.

Silver Bay Seafoods has adjusted its 2026 Bristol Bay sockeye price to $2 a pound for chilled, floated, bled fish, the Bristol Bay Fishermen’s Association said on Tuesday, July 14. The company will continue to evaluate the season’s financial results, with the final profit share to be calculated and reviewed by the fishermen’s board at the spring meeting, said Janis Harsila, business manager for the BBFA.

On July 15, Trident Seafoods announced a base price increase from $1.25 to $1.65 a pound, bringing its Tier 1 chilled price to $2.

Consumers found fresh fillets of red salmon on sale at Costco warehouses in Anchorage for $14.99 a pound, down $2 from a week earlier. Seafood managers at New Sagaya in Anchorage had Alaska red salmon fillets for $12.95 a pound, while 10th & M held firm at $16.95 a pound. Carrs-Safeway customers with a store card could purchase those fillets for $16.99 a pound, but the regular price was $38.99 a pound.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Commercial troll fishery stays open with half of allotted kings remaining

July 15, 2026 — Southeast Alaska’s commercial king salmon fishery will remain open until further notice. The July 1 king opener for trollers, who fish with hook and line, is usually over quickly– it typically lasts anywhere from a handful of days to a week. But this year, with two weeks down, trollers are only at the halfway mark toward catching their target.

Grant Hagerman is the Southeast region’s commercial troll management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. In an interview with KCAW on Monday (7-13-26) Hagerman said in the past two weeks, trollers have caught roughly half of the 84,000 allotted Chinook salmon.

“Fishing is a little bit slower, definitely,” Hagerman said. “But we have fewer boats. There’s less effort this year as well. So a combination of those two has has prolonged this longer than what we’d anticipated, preseason.”

Read the full article at KCAW