On the eve of Independence Day 2025, with other wild Alaska red salmon harvests coming in, Copper River sockeyes were still holding their own in terms of cost – with prices ranging from $15.99 to $56.95 a pound in retail markets from Anchorage to Seattle.
Costco stores in Anchorage dropped the price of their Copper River fillets to $15.99, down a buck, while elsewhere in town there were none for sale – except at online purveyor FishEx, where the price held steady at $56.95 for premium portions of the celebrated fish.
New Sagaya fishmongers in Anchorage were doing brisk business in headed and gutted Southeast Alaska king salmon from Ketchikan for $13.99 a pound, and sockeye fillets for $17.99 a pound.
Pike Place Fish Market in Seatle continued to offer whole, four-pound Copper River sockeyes for $124.99 and fillets for $39.99, plus whole Copper River kings for $639.99 and Copper River king fillets at $119.99 a pound.
Other commercial salmon fisheries in Prince William Sound, the Alaska Peninsula, Bristol Bay, Cook Inlet and Kodiak have begun delivering to processors.
As of July 1, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADF&G) preliminary statewide commercial salmon harvest stood at 16.7 million fish – including nearly 14 million sockeyes, 2.7 million chums, 173,000 pink, 63,000 Chinook and 3,000 coho salmon.
Statewide sockeye harvests are up 46% from 2024 due primarily to the Bristol Bay fishery, with all other regions besides Kodiak currently down year-over-year, said Simon Marks, who compiles in-season Alaska salmon harvest weekly updates for McKinley research Group on behalf of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
While the year-to-date sockeye harvest is up 46%, the harvest in Prince William Sound of 528,000 red salmon, was down 72% from the 1.9 million reds the region saw year-to-date last year.
The Prince William Sound pink salmon harvest of 20,000 fish compared to 51,000 year-to-date a year ago, was down 61%. Prince William Sound keta deliveries to processors stood at 1.5 million fish, up 32%, or by 342,000 from a year ago.
Marks noted that the Prince William Sound keta harvest currently represents 65% of total keta harvest statewide. Current keta harvests remain below the early-season harvests from 2024, though total 2025 harvest is still expected to be 20% above 2024 by season’s end, he said.
Marks also noted that the Bristol Bay Sockeye fishery has started the season off strong, currently outpacing 2024 harvests at a rate of 2.7 to 1. The University of Washington Bristol Bay sockeye projection has been revised upwards by 11.5% from the pre-season forecast to reflect this pace, his report said.
