Tag: salmon

Annual Calif. Salmon Information Meeting Set for Feb. 26
19Feb By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Annual Calif. Salmon Information Meeting Set for Feb. 26

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is inviting the public to participate in its annual salmon information meeting via webinar on Feb. 26, including a presentation on management objectives for the 2025 ocean salmon seasons. Meeting details, informational materials and instructions for attendance are slated to be published in advance of the event on agency’s website: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Salmon/preseason. Scheduled presentations include a report on last year’s spawning escapement and estimates of forecasted ocean abundance. The annual meeting marks the start of a two month process to develop annual sport and commercial ocean salmon fishing regulations and informs the development of inland salmon fishing regulations later in the spring. ...
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Chinook Salmon an Increasingly Popular Food Choice of Sharks
5Feb By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Chinook Salmon an Increasingly Popular Food Choice of Sharks

Wild Chinook salmon, a perennial favorite of seafood aficionados at upscale restaurants, is also becoming increasingly popular with a tough and hungry predator found in ocean waters from the Central Bering Sea to the coast of Oregon. “Predation by salmon sharks is on the increase,” Andrew Seitz, a researcher at the University of Alaska College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, in Fairbanks, Alaska, said. “We don't know how long because we haven't been doing this long enough, but signs are (that) there are a lot of them out there in the ocean.” Seitz presented his research findings on the decline of Chinook salmon abundance in the North Pacific Ocean during the Gulf of Alaska plenary session of 2025 Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage on Jan. 28. “The ocean is a dangero...
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Juvenile Salmon Face Competition for Food in Northwest Waters
5Feb By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Juvenile Salmon Face Competition for Food in Northwest Waters

Juvenile sablefish in increasing numbers off the coastal waters from Central Oregon north to northern Washington are competing with juvenile salmon for food, according to NOAA Fisheries research recently published in the journal Marine and Coastal Fisheries. The report, released Jan. 7, shows the influence of warming ocean temperatures off the West Coast. It matches reports of fishing boats catching smaller sablefish closer to shore. Researchers said their findings mean that salmon may face new competition from sablefish at a critical time in their life cycle, which is already threatened by climate change. Adult sablefish live for many years in deep offshore waters along the ocean floor.  Juvenile sablefish, like young salmon, first feed and grow along the highest layers of th...
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Alaska Hydropower Dam Helps Sustain Salmon Habitat
8Jan By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Alaska Hydropower Dam Helps Sustain Salmon Habitat

A hydropower dam now providing the bulk of electric power for a fisheries community on Alaska's Prince William Sound also serves to sustain spawning habitat for the fish that have made Cordova famous with seafood aficionados. The Power Creek hydroelectric plant, seven miles east of Cordova, with installed generating capacity of 6.0 megawatts, provides about 60 % of the power for Cordova from the Cordova Electric Cooperative. Humpback Creek hydropower plant, located seven miles north of Cordova with a generating capacity of 1.25 megawatts, provides about 10-15 %. A diesel generation facility just outside of the city provides the remaining percentage. The Power Creek dam is unique in that it is made of a giant inflatable rubber barrier that can be lowered to let the river return...
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Salmon Hatcheries Issues Come Before Alaska Board of Fisheries
11Dec By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Salmon Hatcheries Issues Come Before Alaska Board of Fisheries

At the Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting taking place in Cordova, Alaska from Dec. 10-16, the agenda includes several proposals to decrease hatchery production of pink and chum salmon in Prince William Sound. Cordova District Fishermen United and others, including the city of Cordova, oppose Proposition 78 by former long time Board of Fisheries member Virgil Umphenour of Fairbanks. The proposal calls for a 25% cut in the pink salmon egg take level in hatcheries operated by the Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corp. and Valdez Fisheries Development Association, followed by an evaluation of its impact within five years. The proposal contends that there’s significant evidence that there is an ocean carrying capacity that’s exacerbated by the proliferation of Alaskan and Asia hatc...
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Larger Volumes of Salmon, Pollock Have Potential for Revenue Increases in 2025
11Dec By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Larger Volumes of Salmon, Pollock Have Potential for Revenue Increases in 2025

2024 was not a recovery year for total ex-vessel value of Alaska’s seafood harvest, but the potential of greater harvests of salmon and pollock in 2025 could bring a revenue boost, even with static prices, according to a research consultant monitoring the state's fisheries. Potential larger volumes of the salmon and pollock are positive price signals, seafood economics consultant Sam Friedman of McKinley Research Group, said. Friedman presented the economic update on Dec. 3, during the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute's annual “All Hands On Deck” gathering in Anchorage. Friedman factored in the impact on prices given the likelihood that the incoming Trump administration could impose heavy tariffs on imports from China, where a lot of Alaska seafood undergoes secondary processin...
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CDFW: Coho Salmon Returning to Klamath River Basin For 1st Time in Over 60 Years
27Nov By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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CDFW: Coho Salmon Returning to Klamath River Basin For 1st Time in Over 60 Years

Coho salmon, a threatened species, are slowly returning to the Klamath River Basin, now that the dam blocking their passage is gone. California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials on Nov. 22 reported the first returns of cohos to the upper Klamath River Basin in over 60 years, following removal of the former Iron Gate Dam, which was completed last month. CDFW officials said that not since construction of Iron Gate in the early 1960s have they documented coho salmon in their historic habitat in the upper watershed. The dam was one of four hydroelectric dams built on the Klamath River between 1908 and 1962 to generate electricity. The state agency report said that on Nov. 13, seven coho salmon entered the CDFW’s new Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in Siskiyou County. The creek wa...
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Alaska Commercial Salmon Harvest Took a Hit in Size, Value in 2024, Data Show
20Nov By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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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...
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51M Fish Forecast for Bristol Bay Salmon Run
13Nov By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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51M Fish Forecast for Bristol Bay Salmon Run

A Bristol Bay 2025 sockeye salmon run forecast estimating a return of 51.31 million fish and a potential harvest of 36.33 million fish was released Nov. 7 by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The forecast is 16% smaller than the most recent 10-year average of 61.23 million fish and 38% greater than the long-term average of 37.07 million fish (1963-2024). A run of 51.31 million sockeye salmon would allow for a potential harvestable surplus of 36.33 million fish: 34.78 million fish in Bristol Bay and 1.55 million fish in the South Peninsula June fishery. ADF&G biologists said that a Bristol Bay inshore harvest of this size would be 15% less than the most recent 10-year average harvest of 40.91 million and 50% greater than the long-term average harvest of 23.27 million ...
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First Salmon Since 1912 Spotted in Oregon’s Klamath Basin Following Dam Removal
23Oct By Mark Edward NeroNo Comments
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First Salmon Since 1912 Spotted in Oregon’s Klamath Basin Following Dam Removal

On Oct.16, a fall-run Chinook salmon was identified in a tributary to the Klamath River, becoming the first of the fish to return to the Klamath Basin in Oregon since 1912 when the first of four hydroelectric dams was constructed, blocking migration. The salmon – part of a species which travel up rivers from the sea to breed – was identified by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fish biologists. The Chinook and others likely traveled about 230 miles from the Pacific Ocean to reach the tributary, months after the Klamath River dams were removed to ensure fish passage from California to Oregon. “This is an exciting and historic development in the Klamath Basin that demonstrates the resiliency of salmon and steelhead,” ODFW Director Debbie Colbert said. “It also inspires us to c...
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