ADF&G 2025 Forecast for Copper River Harvest is Mostly “Excellent” — 1.92M Sockeye Expected

Yesterday the Alaska Department of Fish. & Game released its forecast for returning salmon into the Copper River and Prince William Sound areas, noting “excellent” or “strong” returns for everything except Chinook salmon in the Copper River.

Chinook or king salmon, largest in body size and longest lived of Alaska’s five species of salmon, has been in decline across the state for many years. In the Copper River, Chinook returns exceeded forecasts in 2017, 2018, and 2019 with total runs of 55,000-65,000 each year. In 2020  ...

Judges Confirm No Overtime Pay for Alaska General Seafoods Employees During Pandemic

A US appellate court ruled that Kanaway Seafoods, doing business as Alaska General Seafoods (AGS), did not have to pay its employees overtime for those who remained on-site during COVID-19 lockdowns.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's ruling, which was issued on January 10, confirmed that the district court's ruling that AGS did not have to pay overtime to its employees was correct.

“First, the court correctly concluded that Plaintiffs were not entitled to compensation for their on-call time. Although Plaintiffs...

USDA to Purchase $50 Million in Wild Alaska Pollock

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an upcoming purchase of up to $50 million of Wild Alaska pollock. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) highlighted that the purchase will support fishermen, companies and communities involved in the industry that are battling low pollock prices amid a dip in demand and increased competition from Russia.

“We all appreciate the quick response by USDA to address the needs of the seafood industry and, at the same time, food insecure Americans by committing to purchase what may be...

Genome Sequencing in Red King Crab Stocks May Mean Better Odds to Survive Climate Change

A new research paper released December 31, 2024 by the Alaska Science Center showed a higher level of diversity over different regions in Alaska than previously known, suggesting the stocks may be more resilient to climate change and changing ocean conditions.

Lead author Carl St. John, a post-doctoral assistant at Cornell University, Laura E. Timm and Wesley Larson of NOAA Fisheries, and Kristen M. Gruenthal of ADF&G,  looked at the Aleutian Islands, eastern Bering Sea, northern Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and Southeast Alaska ...

Maersk Withdraws Transpacific Shipping Services from Alaska

Global shipping company Maersk recently announced its withdrawal of transpacific shipping services from Alaska.

Effective 2025, Maersk will suspend its Alaska market coverage within North America, removing terminals in Dutch Harbor and Kodiak from its transpacific network.

According to the Fisheries of the United States 2022 report, which was published by NOAA Fisheries in October 2024, Dutch Harbor was among the U.S.’s top ports in 2022 for volume and value, with a 20-year trend of large Alaska pollock landings...   

Pacific Seafoods and Trident Close Kodiak Deal, Expect Smooth Transition to 2025 Season

Pacific Seafood Group and Trident Seafoods announced yesterday that the purchase of Trident’s processing operations in Kodiak by Pacific Seafood is now complete. The deal was first announced in mid-October, the last of a series of moves Trident made responding to persistent marketing and global financial conditions.

Oregon-based Pacific Seafoods has processed salmon, crab, and groundfish at it’s own plant in Kodiak for years. This acquisition will increase their production significantly.

The acquisition includes three well-established processing plants--Star of Kodiak, Alkod, and Kodiak ...

2025 TACs Up on Alaska Pollock and Mackerel, Down on Cod, Yellowfin Sole, POP in Bering Sea
Dec. 11, 2024: Gulf of Alaska TACs added; units corrected to thousands of metric tons (kmt) for all species except BS pollock.

Alaska Pollock stocks are strong enough to merit a 6% increase for the total allowable catch (TAC) in the Bering Sea, from 1.3 million metric tons in 2024 to 1.375 mmt in 2025. In the Gulf of Alaska, the 2025 TAC is 53,000 mt less at 133,075 mt compared to this year’s quota of 186,000 mt.

The North Pacific Fishery Management ...

US Crab Prices Soar Amid Diminished Supply

The 2024 Canadian snow crab season began with prices in April up 19% compared to the already remarkable levels of 2023, according to Urner Barry by Expana. Despite the increase, these prices remained manageable for retail and food service sectors, holding steady throughout the summer and into September. However, as inventories dwindled, prices surged further, with Canadian snow crab now up over 40% compared to the same time period last year.

More than 90% of U.S. imports of Canadian snow crab occurred early in the season when prices were lower, which benefited retailers and...

2024 Seabank Annual Report Links Natural Environments and Human Economies in SE Alaska

On Monday the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT), released the 2024 SeaBank Annual Report that includes, among other facts about the value of the SE Alaska ecosystems, the $1 billion annual contribution to regional economies in jobs and resources to over 72,000 residents in 33 communities.

“We can look at Southeast Alaska as a bank of forest and sea,” says ASFT board member Linda Behnken, “one that supports the entirety of our collective economic, social, cultural, and physical well-being. If we steward this natural bank ...

ADF&G Forecasts 51.3 Million Sockeye Salmon Run to Bristol Bay in 2025, 16% Below 10-Yr Average

Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game’s annual pre-season forecast of a total run of 51.31 million sockeye salmon and a harvest of 34.8 million sockeye is 16% smaller than the most recent 10-year average of 61.23 million fish but 38% greater than the long-term average of 37.07 million fish (1963– 2024).

It is slightly higher than the only other prediction for the world-class fishery in Bristol Bay, which was released August 15 by the University of Washington last ...

Les Hodges: The Holiday Buying Season Begins with New Alaska Fisheries

The Alaska king and snow crab fisheries are underway, with all eyes looking north. This season, the red king crab quota has been raised by 7.5% to 2.310mm pounds. Meanwhile, tanner (or bairdi) snow crab has seen a remarkable increase, tripling last year's quota to 6.27 million pounds. Additionally, there's an unexpected opening for opilio snow crab, with a quota set at 4.720mm pounds. However, St. Mathew blue king crab and the Pribilof red and blue king crab remain closed.

Norway also announced 2025 quotas...

2024 Wild Salmon Season: Unraveling the Causes Behind Declining Landings

The 2024 Alaskan wild salmon season experienced significantly lower landings across all species, including Chinook (king), chum (keta), pink, coho, and sockeye. With the season largely wrapped up through September 7, landings for sockeye across Alaska were down 20% compared to 2023, with pink landings falling 44% from 2022 YTD and the chum catch dipping 32% year-over-year, respectively, according to Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute's Weekly Alaska Salmon Updates produced by the McKinley Research Group.

Back in September, McKinley Research Group noted that the harvest of lower than 100...

Nearly $40 Million in Disaster Funding Allocated for ’23-24 Bering Sea Snow Crab Fishery

The U.S. Secretary of Commerce announced that $39.5 million in funding will address a fishery resource disaster that occurred in the Alaska Bering Sea Snow Crab Fishery from 2023 to 2024.

“As climate change continues to have severe impacts on the fisheries and ecosystems that are vital to Alaska’s economy, the Department of Commerce remains committed to providing disaster relief across the state,” said Secretary Raimondo. “This funding will help Alaskans recover from the Bering Sea Snow Crab Fishery disaster...

Hodges: US Crab Sales are Strong with Limited Inventories

The year ended as it began, with strong retail support for snow crab. According to Urner Barry, April prices when the 2024 Canadian snow crab season began rose by 19% compared to the remarkable levels of 2023. Despite the higher prices, the trade perceived snow crab as being a strong value, leading to 78 million pounds being imported in the first three months of the season. Favorable import prices persisted throughout the summer and into fall.

Canada dominates the U.S. snow crab market, accounting for 91% of total snow crab imports through...

Circle Seafoods Launches Wild Alaska Salmon Filets in H-E-B and Sprouts Markets

Circle Seafoods, a new processor in the wild Alaska salmon scene, announced that its frozen Wild Alaska Salmon filets have debuted in H-E-B stores across Texas and Sprouts Farmers Market stores across the country.

The company’s 12-ounce frozen salmon filets are now available in 23 states.

“Why is this a big deal? Because we’re not just slingin' salmon—we’re shaping the future of wild salmon,” the company said on LinkedIn. “Think fresher fish, less waste/ more taste, and a...

NORAD Intercepts Four Russian Warplanes in International Airspace off Alaska 

On Tuesday, December 17, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked another quartet of Russian military aircraft as they transited through international airspace off the northwestern coast of Alaska. The area is known as the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), where aircraft are expected to identify themselves, according to NORAD. The U.S. government has said they did not see these flights as a threat...

Photo of a TU-95m and two F-16 Falcons courtesy of NORAD.

So Far ADF&G Sees “Excellent” Pink Salmon Run in Kodiak, AK Peninsula But “Average” in SE Alaska

Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game is busy this time of year getting forecasts out for 2025 salmon seasons across the state.

They have predicted another big year for sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay — 51.31 million sockeyes, which is nearly 3 million less than the University of Washington-Fisheries Research Institute’s (UW-FRI) forecast of 54.1 million sockeye there, and big runs for pinks in Kodiak and the Alaska Peninsula’s South Region, but only an average run of pinks in Southeast Alaska...

Size Matters When it Comes to Chinook Spawning Success in Alaska’s Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers

In a new study titled “Body size and early marine conditions drive changes in Chinook salmon productivity across northern latitude ecosystems” scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks found that the size of a Chinook salmon, which has been steadily decreasing in recent years, impacts their ability to reach adulthood, successfully spawn, and produce young that are as capable of surviving their first few years in fresh water and subsequent years in the ocean. 

Scientists looked at 26 Chinook salmon populations in Alaska’s two biggest ...

Alaskan Seafood Processor PSF, Inc. Pays $750K Penalty for Clean Water Act Violations

On December 5, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that PSF, Inc. (formerly known as Peter Pan Seafoods, Inc.) paid a $750,000 penalty for permit violations to state and federal requirements under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The violations occurred at the company’s seafood processing facilities in Valdez and King Cove, Alaska.

At the Valdez facility, PSF was found to be discharging seafood processing waste from beyond the one-acre “zone of deposit” allowed under the permit...

NOAA Makes $99 million Available for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund

Yesterday the Department of Commerce and NOAA Fisheries announced the availability of up to $99 million in funding through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) for state and tribal projects conserving and restoring salmon in Alaska and along the West Coast.

The funding, which will focus on Pacific salmon and steelhead, will support projects that advance population and habitat restoration and increase environmental and economic resilience in surrounding communities.

Of the total funding available, $34.4 million was provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)...

Alaska and Washington Get Federal Boost for Port Infrastructures From Saint Paul Island to Tacoma

Six coastal communities in Alaska and five in Washington state will receive nearly $150 million for improvements in critical port and maritime infrastructure. The grants are funded by both annual appropriations and the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The IIJA provided $2.25 billion in funds available over five years to the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), which was created to improve the movement of goods through our nation's ports and supply chain and enhance port resiliency.

Alaska has more coastline than ...

Alaska Salmon Fishery Achieves Fifth MSC Certification; Marks 25 Years of Program Engagement

For the fifth time, the Alaska salmon fishery has achieved certification against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard. The milestone also means the fishery has reached 25 years of engagement with the MSC program.

The Alaska salmon certificate is held by the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF), per the MSC.

The Alaska salmon fishery was described as a “pioneer of high standards for sustainable fishing and environmental stewardship.” Not only was it one of the first fisheries to join the MSC program, but...

Alaska Pollock Group At-Sea Processors Association Announces Leadership Transition

The At-sea Processors Association (APA), a trade group within the Alaska pollock industry, announced that its Executive Director, Stephanie Madsen, will retire at the end of the year.

Madsen has been at the helm of the APA since 2007 and has spent nearly 50 years working with the Alaska fishing industry. Madsen started her career working with fishing industry leaders in Unalaska over 40 years ago. She served a pair of terms on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, serving as the first woman Chair and also as...

NOAA Fisheries: Alaska’s Seafood Industry Bore a $1.8 Billion Loss in 2022-23

For anyone curious about what all the disaster declarations, price drops, rising costs, market shifts, and labor shortages have added up to over the past two years, now we can — it’s $1.8 billion.

NOAA Fisheries has done the heavy lifting of summing up the financial impacts of consumer behavior changes, shifts in global markets, climate change, and other factors in its 67-page economic report called Alaska Seafood Snapshot, released yesterday.

In the three-year period 2021-2023, the report says that the Alaska fishing ...

Alaska's Peltola Announces $277 Million to Alaska Fisheries Disasters

Last week, Alaska’s U.S. House Representative Mary S. Peltola announced $277 million in financial relief for ten fisheries disasters that have occurred in Alaska between 2018 and 2022. The funding will go from NOAA Fisheries in the Department of Commerce to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSFMC)  and will be distributed in partnership between the PSFMC, the State of Alaska, and Tribal leaders.

Peltola wrote to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo last April, urging action and expressing concerns about “three groups of fishery disaster funds that were stuck ...