Commercial fish harvests in Prince William Sound have reached over 37 million salmon, with top sockeye catches in Eshamy Main Bay and the bulk of chums caught in the Montague District.
As of Aug. 12, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADF&G) in-season commercial harvests for Prince William Sound stood at 1.2 million sockeyes, nearly 32 million pink, 4.5 million chum, 30,000 coho and 5,000 king salmon.
Data compiled by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) shows that year-over-year the sockeye harvest for Prince William Sound was down 61% and the humpy salmon harvest down 18%. Humpy harvests statewide year-over-year were down 30%.
As of Aug. 11, the Prince William Sound purse seine fisheries were closed, with the next commercial fishing period potentially opening on Aug. 14. The Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corp. began its cost recovery sales program on July 27 and has harvested approximately 28% of the assigned pink salmon revenue goal. Aerial surveys of all purse seine districts are ongoing and stream escapements remain within anticipated ranges for this time frame, according to ADF&G.
Through Aug. 10, statewide salmon harvests stood at over 124 million fish, or 58% of the annual projected harvest, and by Aug. 12 the statewide total salmon catch rose to over 129 million fish.
That included 51 million sockeye, 61 million pink, 14.5 million chum, 888,000 coho and 150,000 king salmon, according to data compiled by ADF&G.
Sockeye, keta and coho harvests have all increased year-over-year and appear on pace to reach total annual projections, said Simon Marks, who compiles the weekly in-season harvest summaries at McKinley Research Group on behalf of ASMI.
The pink salmon season is approaching its traditional peak, and commercial catch is expected to grow, Marks said. A total of 14 million fish were harvested in statistical week 32 and the total harvest is 30% below 2023 levels, with Southern Southeast seine and Cook Inlet fisheries harvest declining most, Marks said.
Coho harvests are up 85% year-over-year, rebounding from a historically low harvest in 2024. Chignik and Bristol Bay are the only two regions with catch currently below 2024. Coho harvests historically peak in week 25 and catch should grow over the next four weeks, Marks said.
Pre-season projections indicated 2025 Chinook harvests would be below 2024. Despite a higher proportion of catch occurring through week 32 this year, commercial harvests of this species so far in 2025 are aligned with this expectation, he said.
Retail prices in the Anchorage area for sockeye salmon were a widespread, from $9.99 a pound for sockeye fillets at Costco warehouses to $17.99 a pound at Carrs Safeway. Fred Meyer, a Kroger company, was offering sockeye fillets for $15.99 a pound. 10th & M Seafoods marked their sockeye fillets at $13.99 a pound. New Sagaya seafood shops were pricing both sockeye and coho salmon fillets at $13.99 a pound, with whole sockeyes and cohos for $7.99 a pound.
Alaska salmon on the menus of Anchorage area restaurants included grilled fish with fennel tomato salad, truffle vinaigrette, rosemary polenta and grilled asparagus for $38 at Orso.
Simon & Seaforts Saloon and Grill was featuring wild sockeye fillets paired with herb couscous, fresh vegetables and topped with beurre blanc grilled, baked, pan seared and blackened, also for $38. Salmon entrees with baba ganoush, artichoke, wild mushrooms and Israeli couscous were $40 on the dinner menu for the Crow’s Nest at the Hotel Captain Cook. Baba ganoush is middle Eastern and Mediterranean dish made from mashed roasted eggplant, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil, often served with pita bread.
At the Spenard roadhouse the grilled Alaska salmon entree, with cauliflower puree, succotash, bacon johnny cake and cowboy butter was $28.
Several restaurants also had Alaskan king salmon entrees at a slightly higher price.
