Salmon statistics show a fishery shaped by strong regional contrasts. Alaska’s 2024 commercial harvest reached 101.2 million fish, but that was 56% below 2023’s 232.2 million. The same year produced approximately 450 million pounds of salmon and an estimated ex-vessel value of $304 million. These figures describe commercial landings and run benchmarks rather than the salmon served in any one kitchen.
Contents
- Alaska harvest and value
- U.S. landings by species
- Southeast Alaska and Yakutat
- Central and western regional harvests
- Forecasts and comparisons
- Chinook runs and escapement
Alaska harvest and value
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported 101.2 million fish in the 2024 commercial salmon harvest, compared with 232.2 million in 2023. The 2024 total was 25% below the preseason projection of 135.7 million fish. In the department’s 1985–2023 comparison, the 2024 all-species harvest was the third-lowest fish count, while its total poundage ranked lowest. Source: 2024 Salmon Harvest Summary.
The estimated 2024 ex-vessel value was $304 million. Adjusted for inflation, that was the third-lowest reported value since 1975. A total of 5,276 individual permit holders made commercial salmon landings in 2024, down from 5,592 in 2023. The harvest included 42.0 million sockeye, 40.0 million pink, 17.2 million chum, 1.7 million coho, and just under 229,000 Chinook salmon. These values and counts are Alaska commercial fishery measures for 2024, not retail or restaurant sales. Source: 2024 Salmon Harvest Summary.
| Alaska commercial salmon measure | 2024 result |
|---|---|
| Total fish | 101.2 million |
| Approximate poundage | 450 million pounds |
| Estimated ex-vessel value | $304 million |
| Permit holders making landings | 5,276 |
| Sockeye harvest | 42.0 million |
| Pink harvest | 40.0 million |
| Chum harvest | 17.2 million |
| Coho harvest | 1.7 million |
| Chinook harvest | Just under 229,000 |
U.S. landings by species
The 2024 U.S. commercial landings data show very different scales by salmon species. Sockeye landings totaled 196 million pounds and were valued at approximately $259 million. Chum landings totaled 104 million pounds and were valued at $54 million. Coho landings totaled 14 million pounds and were valued at $17.6 million, while Chinook landings totaled 6.9 million pounds and were valued at $30 million. Sources: Sockeye Salmon: Science, Chum Salmon: Resources, Coho Salmon, and Chinook Salmon: Seafood.
Geography is especially important when interpreting those national numbers. More than 90% of the U.S. coho harvest comes from Alaska, with smaller shares from Washington and Oregon. Approximately 99% of the U.S. chum harvest comes from Alaska. More than 50% of the U.S. sockeye catch is sold fresh or frozen rather than canned. These are 2024 landing-context measures reported with the species information, not estimates of all global salmon production.
Species size also changes how a harvest count relates to kitchen portions. NOAA’s species description says pink salmon typically weigh 3.5 to 5 pounds and average 20 to 25 inches in length. Chum salmon can grow to 3.6 feet and 30–35 pounds, while average weight is 8–15 pounds. Female chum salmon in North America typically carry 2,000–4,000 eggs. The pink and chum size and biology figures are species descriptions without a stated measurement year. Sources: Sockeye Salmon: Science and Chum Salmon: Resources.
Southeast Alaska and Yakutat
The combined 2024 Southeast Alaska and Yakutat commercial salmon harvest, including hatchery cost recovery, was 38.2 million fish. Commercial common-property fisheries supplied approximately 32.8 million fish, or 86% of the combined total. The region’s harvest was 6.6 million fish higher than in 2023. Source: Run forecasts and harvest projections for 2025 Alaska salmon fisheries and review of the 2024 season.
Species results varied sharply. Southeast Alaska’s 2024 Chinook harvest was 206,000 fish, below the recent 10-year average of 254,000. Sockeye harvest was about 797,000 fish: purse seines took 409,000, about 51% of the regional sockeye harvest, and drift gillnets took 250,000, about 31%. Coho harvest was approximately 1.4 million fish, with troll fisheries contributing about 579,000, or 42%.
Pink and chum produced the region’s largest contrasts. Southeast Alaska’s 2024 pink harvest was just over 20.1 million fish, and purse seines accounted for 18.4 million, or 91%. Chum harvest was 15.7 million fish, 61% above the recent 10-year average of 9.8 million. The comparison averages cover 2014–2023. Source: Run forecasts and harvest projections for 2025 Alaska salmon fisheries and review of the 2024 season.
Central and western regional harvests
Prince William Sound’s 2024 commercial common-property and hatchery cost-recovery harvest totaled 15.0 million salmon. It included approximately 9,700 Chinook, 3.2 million sockeye, 167,000 coho, 9.9 million pink, and 1.7 million chum. Common-property fisheries accounted for 61%, or 9.2 million fish. In the Copper River District, the commercial sockeye harvest was 1.37 million fish, 54% above the recent 10-year average of 889,000. Wild sockeye made up 69% of that harvest, or 952,000 fish.
Bristol Bay’s 2024 commercial harvest included 31.6 million sockeye, 509,000 chum, 78,000 pink, 31,000 coho, and about 5,000 Chinook. Its Chinook harvest was approximately 4,600 fish, including about 2,400 from the Nushagak District. These figures illustrate how a region can be dominated by one species even while several salmon species are landed. Source: Run forecasts and harvest projections for 2025 Alaska salmon fisheries and review of the 2024 season.
Other management areas recorded smaller but distinct mixes. Kodiak’s 2024 harvest included about 1,486 Chinook, 1.6 million sockeye, 64,000 coho, 7.3 million pink, and 498,000 chum. Chignik recorded approximately 12,000 Chinook, 281,000 sockeye, 68,000 coho, 892,000 pink, and 61,000 chum. Area M recorded approximately 9,000 Chinook, 2.5 million sockeye, 89,000 coho, 1.6 million pink, and 649,000 chum.
The Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim commercial harvest totaled approximately 27,000 salmon: 14,000 coho, 10,000 chum, 3,000 pink, and about 300 sockeye. Norton Sound’s 2024 commercial coho harvest was 13,800 fish, equal to 16% of its recent five-year average of 87,000. Its pink harvest was about 3,000 fish, equal to 4% of its almost-92,000 odd-year five-year average. Kotzebue Sound’s harvest included approximately 5,400 chum and was the poorest on record when a buyer was available.
Forecasts and comparisons
Alaska’s 2023 commercial salmon harvest totaled approximately 232.4 million fish, 43.0 million above the preseason forecast of 189.4 million. The 2023 harvest comprised approximately 236,000 Chinook, 51.9 million sockeye, 2.6 million coho, 154.9 million pink, and 22.7 million chum. Source: Run forecasts and harvest projections for 2024 Alaska salmon fisheries and review of the 2023 season.
The preseason projection for 2024 was 135.7 million fish: 169,000 Chinook, 39.5 million sockeye, 2.6 million coho, 69.0 million pink, and 24.3 million chum. Compared with the 2023 actual harvest, that projection was 85.8 million pink fewer and 12.4 million sockeye fewer, but 15,000 coho higher and 1.6 million chum higher. The projection was an estimate made before the 2024 season; it should not be treated as a landing count.
The 2025 Southeast Alaska pink categories, based on 1960–2023 history, define poor as under 11 million fish, weak as 11–19 million, average as 19–33 million, strong as 33–48 million, and excellent as over 48 million. For Prince William Sound, the 2025 wild pink run forecast was 18.626 million fish, with an 8.500–28.753 million prediction range, 8% above the 17.204 million 10-year average. The wild chum forecast was 613,000, with a 285,000–941,000 range, 18% above the 520,000 10-year average.
The 2025 Copper River wild sockeye run forecast was 2.558 million fish, with a 2.205–2.910 million range, 55% above the 1.646 million 10-year average. These 2025 numbers are forecasts and prediction ranges, not completed harvests. Source: Run forecasts and harvest projections for 2025 Alaska salmon fisheries and review of the 2024 season.
Chinook runs and escapement
Chinook statistics are often reported as run forecasts, terminal runs, and escapement. The 2025 Situk Chinook run forecast was 750 fish, compared with a 2015–2024 average run of 654. The Chilkat forecast was 3,000 versus an average of 2,124. The Taku forecast was 40,125 versus 15,007, while the Stikine forecast was 9,921 versus 12,528. The Unuk forecast was 2,600 versus 2,648. These comparisons use the named stock and period; they are not statewide averages.
The 2024 observed benchmarks were different. Situk’s total or terminal run was 517 fish and escapement was 517. Chilkat’s total or terminal run was 2,182 and escapement was 2,070. Taku’s total or terminal run was 23,338 and escapement was 24,518. Stikine’s total or terminal run was 9,921 and escapement was 9,835. Because the source reports these as stock-specific run and escapement measures, they should be read as management benchmarks rather than direct measures of commercial landings. Source: Run forecasts and harvest projections for 2025 Alaska salmon fisheries and review of the 2024 season.