A late August surge of pinks to Kodiak and Southeast Alaska pushed the 2026 sstatewide salmon catch to 86 million fish, 69% of the forecast and nearly 45% below last year’s catch of over 197 million salmon.
None of Alaska’s five salmon species will reach preseason harvest projections, reported McKinley Research Group in its weekly updates for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Salmon species coming closest to the forecasts are sockeye at 84%, pinks at 63%, and Chinook at 60%.
Last week saw pink salmon catches surge at Kodiak and Southeast following a slow start to the season.
Nearly 13 million humpies were harvested in Kodiak in a 10-day late August rush, an 80% increase year-over-year. Fishermen got an astonishing 60-70 cents a pound for their pinks, twice last year’s price, and the highest price in 37 years said the Kodiak Daily Mirror, citing ADF&G’s Commercial Salmon Fishery Ex-vessel Prices webpage.
Seiners in Sitka broke the single-day record for harvesting pink salmon not once, but twice in late August. KCAW in Sitka reported that local seiners beat the record on August 6, catching 1.23 million pinks in one day, and topped that amount a few days later. The pinks were fetching 60 cents a pound for fishermen, double recent prices.
Southeast’ Alaska’s total pink salmon catch was approaching 17 million fish.
Sockeye tops $2/lb for fishermen at Bristol Bay
The 2026 Bristol Bay sockeye catch came up short at under 30 million fish, a big drop from the hefty harvests seen in recent years.
The pre-season price offering to fishermen of $1.60 per pound was 30 cents higher than in 2025, and a whopping 80 cents more than in 2024. reported Scott Atkinson at National Fisherman.
“Prices rose further by mid-July, with Silver Bay and Trident Seafoods offering $2 per pound for chilled, bled, and floated product. Subsequently, even slightly higher prices were being reported. This season’s mid-point price rise was a rare event in the history of the fishery,” Atkinson said.
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Global market glimpse: low pink supplies, trade squabble squeeze
Alaska salmon competes in a global market and popular wild pinks won’t be as plentiful.
Tradex predicts that combined Alaska and Russian production could drop 50% from last year to 350,000 MT, adding that trade restrictions further tighten pink salmon supply,
Tradex recommends “that buyers protect near-term pink salmon, chum and roe requirements, as remaining fall production is unlikely to replace the substantial volume of wild salmon missing from the market in 2026.”
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