What to Expect from Southeast Alaska’s 2025 Salmon Fishery: Risks for B.C. Salmon

Pink Salmon Boom—And Its Implications

The Price Sockeye Pay

Although officially a pink salmon-directed fishery, sockeye, coho, chum, and, in some cases, Chinook salmon are also retained. Sockeye salmon are significantly more valuable in the market, and it’s the returning Skeena River sockeye that attracts commercial fishers out to District 104. Skeena sockeye have a forecasted return of 2.7 million in 2025, but up to 90% of those originate from the enhanced Babine spawning channels. The enhanced sockeye from Babine spawning channels makes it possible for Alaskan fishers to profit at the expense of wild Skeena sockeye populations, which remain under pressure from overharvest. The forecast for sockeye salmon commercial catch in Southeast Alaska for 2025 is 886,000, most of which will be B.C. origin sockeye.

Chum Salmon and Hatchery Production

Rising catch, uncertain impacts on B.C. stocks

Chum salmon catch is forecasted at ~15.5 million and has increased in recent years due to large-scale hatchery production in Southeast Alaska. However, there is very little information available about the numbers of B.C. chum salmon caught in Southeast Alaska, and Skeena and central coast chum populations remain at historical low abundances with ongoing conservation concerns. We simply don’t know how many B.C. chum are being caught in Southeast Alaska each year, but the increasing catch in Southeast Alaska and other impacts of large-scale hatchery production are major impediments to rebuilding B.C. chum populations.

A Small Win for Chinook Conservation

Lower 2025 catch limits offer some relief

On a positive note for 2025, catch limits for Chinook salmon in Southeast Alaska are nearly 40% lower than in 2024 and other recent years, with a forecasted commercial catch of 103,000 Chinook for 2025 (compared to a recent average of ~200,000). This results from a change in how the catch limit is calculated, and now relies on improved data from the Pacific Salmon Commission’s model of Chinook abundance. This is a huge win for Chinook in 2025, but also highlights the concerning overharvest which has been occurring.

Over 70% of the Chinook catch occurs in Southeast Alaska’s troll fishery, and is marketed as “wild troll caught Alaskan kings” even though up to 95% originate from rivers in B.C., Washington, and Oregon—where many Chinook populations are threatened or endangered.

While the reported commercial catch of Chinook in Southeast Alaska is significantly reduced this year, unaccounted for catch of Chinook in the purse seine fishery remains a concern. For most of the season, Chinook cannot be retained in the District 104 purse seine fishery, but there are no records required for incidental catch – which has mortality rates exceeding 90%. This means that Chinook caught in the fishery are thrown back overboard, dead, with no record– making it difficult to assess the true impact.