Important Data About Alaska Salmon Fishery

In Alaska, salmon come first. Alaska has a long and successful track record of managing and conserving its abounding salmon resources. Record salmon runs with an average annual catch of 165 million salmon is the proof of this successful approach.

Nearly 95% of all commercially caught salmon in the States are harvested in Alaska. Alaska is the top producer of wild, high-value salmon, producing nearly 80 percent of the world supply of king, sockeye, and coho. Alaska’s commercial salmon fishery is vital to the Alaskan economy and the Alaskan way of life.

Each year, the salmon industry provides thousands of roles and hundreds of millions of dollars to the state’s economy. Commercial fishing is imperative to communities and fishing
families across the state.

Alaska’s fishing industry leads the state in providing 47% of private sector roles, and is second only to the oil industry in providing revenue to the state. In 2002, the exvessel price for combined fisheries totaled $955 million with $162 million from salmon.

Salmon fishing permits are given to people, not firms, thru the “limited entry permit system”. The total number of available permits for each fishery is strictly limited. Fishermen may not own more than one salmon permit for a similar gear type and area. This creates a fishery made from many people and families.

Three main gear types catch Alaska salmon: trolling, gillnetting, and purse seining. All commercial salmon fishing boats are relatively little vessels ; averaging thirty to 50 feet.

Trollers use long trolling poles to pull or troll two to 4 deep weighted lines through the water, each with 8 - 12 leaders attached. At the end of each leader there’s a lure or baited hook. Boat size varies from little skiffs to vessels of fifty feet or more with many ranging between twenty-five to forty feet.

Trollers basically target king, coho, and pink salmon as they enter Alaskan waters on their way to the spawning grounds. Trollers catch a comparatively low volume of high-quality fish. The fish they catch are bright and vigorous from fresh ocean waters. They are often
sold dressed, or filleted in the fresh or fresh frozen market.

Gillnetters set curtain-like nets in the water suspended from a float line at the surface and a weighted lead line along the submerged lower edge. Nets alter in length from 9 hundred to 1800 feet long. The net’s mesh openings are just big sufficient to allow an adult fish head to get thru and become trapped at the gills.

There are two types of gillnets; driftnets that are free floating from boats, and setnets that have one end attached to the coast. Ship size is limited to 32 feet or less in Bristol Bay ; otherwise, the average range is 30 to forty feet. Gillnetters primarily harvest sockeye, mate and coho.

Purse Seiners employ a huge floating net, pulled and set in circle by a power skiff, to surround schooling salmon. The weighted “purse line” at bottom of the net is drawn closed to contain the fish. The net full of fish is then gathered to the ship thru a highpowered hydraulic block.

Purse seiners are not allowed north of the Alaska Peninsula ; ship size is restricted to 58 feet. Purse Seiners crop principally pink salmon close to the shoreline and close to fresh water spawning grounds where runs are highly concentrated.

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