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Alaska Commercial Salmon Harvest Took a Hit in Size, Value in 2024, Data Show

20Nov

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Alaska Commercial Salmon Harvest Took a Hit in Size, Value in 2024, Data Show

Alaska’s statewide commercial salmon harvest took a dive both in size and value in 2024, and market conditions had a significant impact on pricing, according to the state’s preliminary harvest and other data released Nov. 18 by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The report estimated 101.2 million salmon were harvested in 2024, a drop of 56% from the 2023 total harvest of 232.2 million salmon. The 2023 commercial salmon fishery harvest for all species had a value of about $304 million, compared with $398 million for the 2023 catch. Sockeye salmon made up roughly 68% of the total value at $206.7 million and 42% of the harvest at 42 million fish. Pink salmon made up about 9% of the value at $28.2 million and 40% of the harvest with 40 million fish. Chum salmon contributed 1...

Bristol Bay Red King, Tanner, Snow Crab TACs Set For 2024-25

9Oct

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Bristol Bay Red King, Tanner, Snow Crab TACs Set For 2024-25

Commercial fisheries for Bristol Bay red king crab and Bering Sea tanner crab opened with increased quotas on Oct. 15, and the Bering Sea snow crab season reopened with a total allowable catch of 4.7 million pounds. "After these tough closure years, we're happy to see some of our vessels heading back to the crab grounds and communities participating in these fisheries again,” Jamie Goen, the executive director of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, and a member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, said. “We’re feeling cautiously optimistic that the crab stock is starting to recover. But our work isn't done,” Goen said. “It's critical that we keep working for habitat protections, stock rebuilding and the overall tools that the crab resource and crab industry need to build resi...

Statewide Commercial Harvest of Alaska Salmon Reaches 75.5M Fish

14Aug

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Statewide Commercial Harvest of Alaska Salmon Reaches 75.5M Fish

An updated preliminary estimate of Alaska’s 2024 statewide commercial salmon harvest rose from 59.7 million to 75.5 million fish as of Aug. 12, but still lags behind the Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecast of 135.7 million fish by season’s end. ADF&G’s forecast for commercial harvesters had included 69 million pink salmon, 39.5 million sockeye salmon, 24.3 million chum salmon, and 2.6 million coho salmon. To date, the count includes 215,000 Chinook, upward of 12 million chum, 455,000 coho, 22.3 million pink and 40.4 million sockeyes. Through the midpoint of the Alaska commercial salmon season a week ago, Simon Marks of McKinley Research Group, who produces in-season Alaska commercial salmon updates for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, said that about 42% of the...

Preseason Registration Opens for Four Commercial Crab Fisheries

14Aug

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Preseason Registration Opens for Four Commercial Crab Fisheries

Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials on Aug. 9 began preseason vessel registration for 2024-2025 commercial crab fisheries in the Bering Sea in order to determine the number of observers needed to meet fishery coverage goals if these seasons open. Total allowable catches are to be announced by subsequent Fish & Game advisory announcements if its determined that harvests will be allowed for the Bristol Bay red king crab, Eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab, Western Bering Sea Tanner crab and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries, ADF&G officials said. Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Executive Director Jamie Goen said she’s cautiously optimistic that there will be a commercial king crab fishing season this year. The king crab fisheries were closed in 2021 and 2022 and reopened for 2...

Commercial Salmon Harvest in Alaska Climbs to 59M Fish

31Jul

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Commercial Salmon Harvest in Alaska Climbs to 59M Fish

Alaska’s total statewide commercial salmon harvest stood at 59 million fish as the fishery began winding down at the end of July, but the jury was still out on how the chum and coho harvests in August would boost the overall 2024 catch. Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists in April forecast a 2024 commercial harvest of 135.7 million salmon, including 69.0 million pink salmon, 39.5 million sockeye salmon, 24.3 million chum salmon and 2.6 million coho salmon. As of July 23, the latest estimated ADF&G harvest calculation showed the harvest at 36% of the projected harvest and industry insiders said they were waiting to see what the final harvest of pink and chum salmon in Prince William Sound would be. As of July 29, the estimated catch of 59 million salmon statewide ...

Nushagak District Leads Bristol Bay Harvest, Where Overall Catch Reaches Nearly 25M Fish

17Jul

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Nushagak District Leads Bristol Bay Harvest, Where Overall Catch Reaches Nearly 25M Fish

Commercial harvesters in Bristol Bay's Nushagak District have brought in nearly 11 million salmon to date in the 2024 fishery, and with the other bay districts have delivered a total of more than 24 million pounds of salmon to processors. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game notes that the statewide catch estimate for the commercial salmon fishery reached 38.2 million pounds as of July 1, up from 25 million salmon on July 9. It's been a tough season for commercial fishermen in the Naknek-Kvichak district, however. ADF&G biologist Travis Elison, in Dillingham, says the anticipated run forecast of 5.5 million salmon is likely to end up being below two million fish, and what happened to the rest of the forecasted run is unknown. Elison said the last time the Naknek-Kvichak ...

Early Alaska Commercial Salmon Catch Exceeds 1M Fish

19Jun

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Early Alaska Commercial Salmon Catch Exceeds 1M Fish

Estimated commercial harvests in the 2024 statewide Alaska salmon fishery topped one million fish as of Monday, June 17, as two districts in Bristol Bay opened in the wake of Copper River/Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet fisheries. Deliveries are also coming to processors from Cook Inlet, Kodiak and the Alaska Peninsula. Prices for the coveted Copper River sockeye fillets are holding their own at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, at $34.99 a pound, and as high as $37.97 at online retailer FishEx in Anchorage. Some retailers meanwhile have begun offering fresh from the ocean Cook Inlet sockeye fillets for $12.99 to $21.99 a pound. In upscale restaurants in Anchorage, gourmet entrees of Copper River reds this week were $49 at Simon & Seafort’s, and $32 at Orso. Al...

6Mar

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ADF&G Plans Listening Session Re: 2022 Yukon River Salmon Fishery Disaster Spending

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game plans to hold a virtual listening session on March 11 to receive input on funding priorities from affected fishery participants for its $1.59 million Yukon River salmon fishery disaster spending plan. ADF&G said the department would draft an initial spend plan for that budget based on input received during the listening session and comments emailed to dfg.com.fisheriesdisasters@alaska.gov. The agency also said that it intends to use the spend plan developed for the 2020-2021 Yukon River salmon disaster as a starting point for the latest spend plan pending public comments. The state supports an open and transparent process for distributing disaster relief. Plans are to work with impacted fishery participants and NOAA Fisheries to ident...

14Feb

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Alaska Board of Fisheries Plans Final Action on Hatchery Production Issue

Final action on a proposal to reduce hatchery production of pink salmon is scheduled to be heard at the next meeting of the Alaska Board of Fisheries, which is scheduled for Feb. 23-March 5. The board took testimony on Proposal 43 during its meeting in Homer, Alaska from Nov. 28 through Dec. 1, and received additional written testimony in advance of the Anchorage meeting, which is being held at the Egan Convention Center. According to Board of Fisheries Executive Director Art Nelson, Proposition 43 is slated for discussion by Group 6 of the board’s committee on March 2, with final action set for after further deliberations on March 3. Proposition 43, proposed by the Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Committee, calls for reduction of overall hatchery production of pink salmon to...

Norton Sound Winter Red King Crab Fishery Begins Feb. 1

10Jan

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Norton Sound Winter Red King Crab Fishery Begins Feb. 1

Although the allowable harvest is yet to be determined, the commercial red king crab fishery in Alaska’s Norton Sound is set to begin on Feb. 1, with a guideline harvest level (GHL) similar to last year’s winter fishery. To date, no buyers have registered for this winter red king crab season and participating commercial crab permit holders will need their own markets. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) said catcher-seller and direct marketer application forms are available at the Nome ADF&G office or online at www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishlicense.main. Crewmember licenses are also available at ADF&G in Nome or online at www.adfg.alaska.gov/Store/. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Crab Plan Team has yet to make recommendations on 20...