Alaska Department of Fish and Game - Commercial Fisheries

Directions Website

Alaska Department of Fish and Game - Commercial Fisheries Commercial fisheries education, outreach, fish counts, regulations, and industry resources from Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The field season is slowing down, but what are biologists doing this time of year?Fish passage is slowing down, sonars a...
09/23/2026

The field season is slowing down, but what are biologists doing this time of year?

Fish passage is slowing down, sonars are out, and weirs are being removed for the season. But that doesn't mean that work stops for our biologists.

After months of fieldwork, biologists shift their focus to a variety of winter activities, including:

Quality assurance & quality control (QA/QC), which is double-checking that data was entered correctly and reviewing a percentage of sonar counts to make sure they meet accuracy standards.

Reading scale samples collected throughout the summer to determine fish ages.

Analyzing data from the field season.

Writing reports documenting the season's findings.

Applying for grants to support research and monitoring projects.

Preparing for Board of Fisheries meetings by reviewing data and preparing reports and materials.

Attending school education events and career fairs

Hiring seasonal technicians for the next field season

So while you may not see biologists out on the rivers as much during the winter, there's plenty happening behind the scenes to turn a summer of fieldwork into information that can be used for fisheries management!

🤿 Upcoming Commercial Dive FisheriesFall is almost here and so is the start of several unique commercial fisheries. Here...
09/11/2026

🤿 Upcoming Commercial Dive Fisheries

Fall is almost here and so is the start of several unique commercial fisheries. Here’s a look at three fisheries where harvesters take to the water:

🥒 Red Sea Cucumber
📅 September 15, 2026 — Chignik
📅 October 1, 2026 — Kodiak & South Peninsula
📅 October 5, 2026 — Southeast Alaska

🦪 Geoduck
📅 October 7, 2026 —Southeast Alaska, pending PSP test results

🔴 Red Sea Urchin
📅 October 1, 2026— Southeast Alaska

Three fisheries. All harvested by scuba divers. 🌊🤿

📢 Opening dates and areas are subject to fishery-specific announcements and management actions. Check the latest ADF&G Commercial Fisheries Advisory Announcements for all district GHLs and any additional details.

Photos submitted by Ketchikan AAMB Whitney Crittenden, taken during recent dive surveys!

08/31/2026

💰 Just how much do Alaska’s commercial fisheries taxes contribute to the state and local communities?

Alaska collects several fish-related taxes, including the Fisheries Business Tax (often called the “raw fish tax”), Fishery Resource Landing Tax, Regional Seafood Development Tax, and Salmon Enhancement Tax.

In 2025, these taxes generated millions of dollars for Alaska:
🐟 Fisheries Business Tax: $30.4 million
• $13.7 million to the state’s General Fund
• $16.5 million shared directly with municipalities
🐟 Fishery Resource Landing Tax: $11.5 million
• $5.8 million to the General Fund
• $5.6 million shared with communities
🐟 Regional Seafood Development Tax: $1.8 million to the General Fund
🐟 Salmon Enhancement Tax: $4.1 million to the General Fund

Together, these commercial fisheries taxes contributed more than $25 million to Alaska’s General Fund and provided more than $22 million directly to local communities in 2025.

That importance extends beyond statewide revenue. Commercial fishing supports the coastal communities where fishing activity takes place, helping generate local revenue and sustain economies throughout Alaska.

Have you ever wondered how many commercial fishing permits exist in Alaska, who holds them, or how much a particular fis...
08/28/2026

Have you ever wondered how many commercial fishing permits exist in Alaska, who holds them, or how much a particular fishery is worth?

The Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC) is a great place to start.

CFEC is the state agency responsible for managing Alaska’s commercial fishing permits, including permit issuance, ownership, transfers, and renewals. CFEC also provides publicly available fisheries statistics and economic data, giving users a look at permit participation, residency, gross earnings (ex-vessel value), permit values, and other information across Alaska’s commercial fisheries.

CFEC works alongside the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) to provide a more complete picture of Alaska’s commercial fisheries. While ADF&G provides information on harvests, fisheries management, and biological data, CFEC focuses on commercial fishing permits, participation, and economic information.

Each state-managed commercial fishery is assigned a unique CFEC fishery code. For example, Cook Inlet gillnet salmon is fishery code S03H.

S = Salmon
03 = Drift gillnet gear
H = Cook Inlet management area

You can view the full list of fishery codes through CFEC’s Current Fishery Codes page - https://www.cfec.state.ak.us/misc/FshyDesC.htm

CFEC also makes it possible to explore data for individual fisheries, including permit numbers, permit ownership and residency, participation, gross earnings, permit values, and more.

For example, 2025 preliminary statistics for the Cook Inlet Gillnet Salmon fishery show:

562 active Cook Inlet gillnet salmon permits
416 (74%) held by Alaska residents
20.6 million pounds harvested by resident and nonresident permit holders combined
$35.3 million in reported gross earnings to resident and nonresident salmon fishermen combined

The analysis doesn’t stop with individual fisheries. Download the full Alaska fisheries dataset and use the available metadata to explore across all of Alaska’s commercial fisheries. The statewide data can reveal some pretty impressive numbers, for example, in 2025, Alaska’s commercial fisheries generated $1.56 billion in ex-vessel value!

📊 The images in this post show where to find the Cook Inlet example, but the CFEC Statistics pages contain much more to explore.

Whether you’re interested in permits, participation, individual fisheries, or the overall economic value of Alaska’s commercial fisheries, CFEC provides a wealth of publicly available information.

Take a look and see what you can find!
https://www.cfec.state.ak.us/index.htm

08/28/2026

Take a look at this sablefish project that our staff in Southeast Alaska are up to!

08/26/2026

Ever wondered what biologists are actually looking at when they count fish with sonar?

In this video, one of our biologists gives you a behind-the-scenes look at sonar footage—what those images mean, what they’re looking for, and how individual fish are identified and counted. It’s a pretty fascinating process, although tough on the eyes for our brave biologists.

Take a look at how technology and good old-fashioned biologist expertise come together to monitor Alaska’s fish populations!

Curious how many fish are caught in a fishing period for Prince William Sound? This past fishing period, on August 16th,...
08/18/2026

Curious how many fish are caught in a fishing period for Prince William Sound? This past fishing period, on August 16th, the following preliminary numbers were harvested:

Eastern District: 22,000 pink, 4,500 coho and 26,600 chum salmon with 28 deliveries
Northern District: 237,000 pink, 800 coho and 224 chum salmon with 38 deliveries
Coghill District: 22,000 pink, 900 coho and 55 chum salmon with 36 deliveries
Northwestern District: 56,900, pink, 381 coho and 201 chum salmon with 11 deliveries
Montague District: 6,200 pink, 300 coho, and 15 chum salmon with 4 deliveries
Southeastern District: 0 deliveries

Total Preliminary Harvest: 344,000 pink, 6,800 coho, 27,000 chum, with 117 reported deliveries.

In addition to this, multiple hatcheries are also participating in cost recovery, which helps to cover the expenses required for maintaining a hatchery.

Want to read more about this past fishing period in Prince William Sound? Our latest advisory announcement is linked below!

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/dcfnewsrelease/1827301317.pdf

Photo Credit: Tim Bowman

Yukon River Sonar Spotlight: Part 2 – Eagle SonarFurther upriver from Pilot Station, at Six Mile Bend—only 18 miles belo...
08/12/2026

Yukon River Sonar Spotlight: Part 2 – Eagle Sonar

Further upriver from Pilot Station, at Six Mile Bend—only 18 miles below the Alaska–Canada border—the Eagle Sonar site is jointly operated by ADF&G and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Salmon counted here have already traveled about 1,200 miles, with many continuing another 800 miles into Canada to spawn.

Eagle plays a key role in meeting the Pacific Salmon Treaty, a bilateral agreement between the United States and Canada to cooperatively manage and share salmon that migrate across the border. Historically, about 50% of Yukon Chinook salmon and 25% of fall chum salmon originate from Canadian stocks. Escapement estimates for Canadian-origin Chinook and fall chum salmon are generated here and used to ensure both countries meet treaty obligations and sustainably manage shared stocks.

For the most part, Chinook and fall chum salmon arrive at separate times, with Chinook salmon arriving early and fall chum later in the season. Some overlap occurs at the tail end of the Chinook season as fall chum begin returning. Because sonar cannot distinguish fish by species, technicians utilize test fisheries by drifting gillnets multiple times a day and documenting their catch. Species numbers and ratios from the test fishery are then applied to the overall sonar count to determine apportionment. For each salmon captured, technicians measure length, determine s*x, and collect a scale and tissue sample. Scales are used to determine age, while tissue samples are used to analyze stock composition.

Eagle employs both ARIS and split-beam sonar for fish counts. The site operates continuously from early July through early October, providing final escapement numbers before fish cross into Canada.

Photo Credit: ADFG Staff

On May 8, 2016 Governor Bill Walker established August 10th of each year as Alaska Wild Salmon Day. We at the Alaska Dep...
08/10/2026

On May 8, 2016 Governor Bill Walker established August 10th of each year as Alaska Wild Salmon Day. We at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game take time to honor this annual day to celebrate our sustainable resource that is woven into the lifeblood of all Alaskans. Alaska’s constitution mandates sustainably managed fisheries and we are proud to be tasked with this challenging job. Our highest priority is to manage Alaska’s prized wild salmon populations for long-term sustainability so that future generations will continue to have the opportunity to harvest and enjoy this abundant renewable resource.

Whether it is sport, personal use, subsistence, or commercial fishing, Alaskans have a deep connection to the wild salmon that are a critical part of the Alaskan economy, culture, ecosystem, and identity. Today, we invite all Alaskans to join us in a shared appreciation of this treasured resource and to celebrate our common affection and ardor for our Alaska wild salmon.

To learn more about Alaska’s wild salmon please visit our website www.adfg.alaska.gov

Sustaining Alaska’s Fisheries: Fifty Years of Statehood
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingCommercial.sustainingakfisheries

Pacific Salmon Lifecycle and Identification Quiz:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingsportfishinginfo.quiz

Photo Credit: © Mark Emery

Yukon River Sonar Spotlight: Part 1 – Pilot StationAbout 121 miles from the Yukon River mouth, the Pilot Station sonar p...
08/05/2026

Yukon River Sonar Spotlight: Part 1 – Pilot Station

About 121 miles from the Yukon River mouth, the Pilot Station sonar project provides the first reliable estimates of salmon entering the river each season. Positioned in a single‑channel stretch, two sonar systems, one on each bank, monitor fish passage across this nearly 1,000‑meter‑wide section of river. Despite strong currents, shifting sediments, high turbidity, and seasonal debris, Pilot Station produces essential inseason data for managing Chinook, summer chum, fall chum, and coho salmon.

Species Apportionment (Test Fishing)
Because sonar cannot identify species, crews conduct twice‑daily drift gillnet test fishing using multiple mesh sizes. These catches reveal the proportions of Chinook, chum, coho, and other species passing the site, which are then applied to sonar counts. All live fish are released; mortalities are provided to the local community.

Biological & Genetic Sampling
A subset of Chinook and chum salmon are sampled for age, s*x, and length, and receive non‑invasive genetic tissue clips. These data help identify stock origins and support management across Alaska and Canada.

Ichthyophonus Disease Research
Pilot Station also supports research for multiple agencies into Ichthyophonus disease, a leading hypothesis for why Canadian‑origin Chinook salmon failed to meet border passage goals in 2020 and 2021. Since 2022, research aims to understand whether the disease causes mortality during migration, identify lethal infection thresholds, and estimate how many infected fish pass Pilot Station each year. Additional fish health assessments help evaluate other factors that may influence survival.

Why Pilot Station Matters
Salmon reach Pilot Station just 2–3 days after entering the river, making it one of the most important inseason tools for understanding run strength and run timing. Its estimates guide subsistence, commercial, and sport fishery decisions and support U.S./Canada treaty obligations. With nearly all Yukon River salmon migrating past this site, Pilot Station is central to managing salmon across the entire drainage.

Photo credit: ADFG staff

Address

333 Raspberry Road
Anchorage, AK
99518

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Alaska Department of Fish and Game - Commercial Fisheries posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category