salmon – Fishermens News

Alaska Hydropower Dam Helps Sustain Salmon Habitat

8Jan

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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...

Salmon Hatcheries Issues Come Before Alaska Board of Fisheries

11Dec

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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...

Larger Volumes of Salmon, Pollock Have Potential for Revenue Increases in 2025

11Dec

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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...

CDFW: Coho Salmon Returning to Klamath River Basin For 1st Time in Over 60 Years

27Nov

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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...

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...

51M Fish Forecast for Bristol Bay Salmon Run

13Nov

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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 ...

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...

Land Management Bureau Invests $3.25M in Alaska Salmon Habitat Restoration

18Sep

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Land Management Bureau Invests $3.25M in Alaska Salmon Habitat Restoration

A federal grant of $3.25 million announced on Sept. 16 is expected to be used improve the ecosystem health and Pacific salmon resiliency in the Yukon, Kuskokwim and Norton Sound regions of Alaska, according to the Bureau of Land Management. Project work under the new agreement was estimated to begin in early September 2024 and continue through the end of summer 2029, the BLM said. The funds implement, through a partner award, part of the $36 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding dedicated to the Interior Department’s ‘Gravel to Gravel’ initiative. The project work, implemented in partnership with the Salcha-Delta Soil and Water Conservation District under the Good Neighbor Authority, includes efforts to restore areas impacted by historic land uses. The Good Neighbor...

Alaska’s Coho Salmon Harvest Could Be a Record Low: Industry Observer

4Sep

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Alaska’s Coho Salmon Harvest Could Be a Record Low: Industry Observer

An international seafood market observer is forecasting that Alaska could face a record low this year in coho salmon landings, compared to strong coho salmon landings in Russia. The observer, Robert Reierson, president and CEO of Tradex Foods, a supplier of premium quality frozen seafood, said this is despite the fact that Russian-origin salmon is banned in the U.S. and the European Union is considering expanding its sanctions to include a wider range of Russian seafood imports. Alaska and Russia are the largest producers of wild Pacific coho salmon, contributing to last year’s global production of about 21,200 metric tons (nearly 47 million pounds) from about 7.45 million fish. Coho landings in Alaska first register in July and are one of the last two species to peak during t...

Alaska Commercial Salmon Harvest Reaches Nearly 92 Million Fish

28Aug

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Alaska Commercial Salmon Harvest Reaches Nearly 92 Million Fish

Fishermen from the Alaska Peninsula to Southeast Alaska delivered more wild salmon to commercial fishing tenders during the past week, bringing the preliminary statewide commercial salmon catch to nearly 92 million fish. That included some 41 million sockeye, 35 million pink, 14.8 million chum, 745,000 coho and 217,000 Chinook salmon. Earlier this year, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game had forecast a potential harvest of 135.7 million fish, including 39.5 million sockeye, 69 million pink, 24.3 million chum and 2.6 million coho salmon. In the westward region, deliveries to Kodiak of 8.6 million fish included nearly 7 million pink, 1.2 million sockeye, 482,000 chum, 42,000 coho and 1,000 kings, while from the Alaska Peninsula the catch reached a new total of 4.8 million fi...