Monday, November 24, 2025
- admin04655
- Nov 24, 2025
- 4 min read
Alaska
Alaska salmon scientist points to 'weaker' 2026 Bristol Bay outlook
Bristol Bay’s 2026 sockeye run is expected to be significantly smaller than recent years, but with 'slightly larger fish.'
Intrafish by Rachel Sapin - November 24, 2025
The University of Washington’s Alaska Salmon Program projects a 2026 sockeye salmon run of 41.5 million fish, which is well below the record highs seen over the past decade.
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Federal actions spark new optimism for Alaska’s fishing industry
National Fisherman by Eric Haun - November 21, 2025
Fisheries in Alaska are responsible for about 60% of the seafood in the United States, but they have faced significant challenges in recent years, including declining revenues, prices, and margins, according to speakers on “The Future of North Pacific Fisheries” panel at the 2025 Maritime Industry Economic Forecast Breakfast, held Friday during the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle.
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West Coast
3MMI - Fall Salmon: Puget Sound Boom? Hokkaido Collapse
Tradex Foods - November 24, 2025
#3MMI - Puget Sound’s fall salmon fishery is the last major West Coast season with Alaska and Russia finished, forecasts show much stronger Chum and Pink returns than in 2024.
Oregon Crabbers Stay Tied to the Dock as Delay Pushes Season to Dec. 16 at Earliest
SeafoodNews by Susan Chambers - November 24, 2025
Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fleet will remain idle a little longer, with the season now delayed coastwide until at least Dec. 16, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced on November 21.
Although Oregon crab passed both meat quality and biotoxin tests, the opener is being held back because Long Beach, Washington, crab has not yet met the 23% meat fill requirement. Most members of the Dungeness Crab Advisory Committee backed the delay, calling it the least disruptive to longstanding harvest patterns and potentially helpful for early-season market strength.
Washington will conduct another round of testing soon. If Long Beach crab finally hits the benchmark, non-tribal Washington areas and all of Oregon will open Dec. 16. If not, Oregon will weigh a partial opener south of Cape Falcon, using fleet input and the Tri-state process to determine next steps, ODFW said in the statement.
Whenever the fishery does open, Oregon vessels will start the season under a whale-aware fleet advisory, urging skippers to avoid or move gear out of active whale foraging and transit zones to minimize entanglement risk. Oregon crabbers already operate under a number of regulations to reduce whale entanglement risk; ensuring crabbers remain aware of whale presence and move their gear are other ways to reduce the risk.
The fishery was originally slated for a Dec. 1 start, but the long-standing Tri-state protocol allows delays to ensure a high-quality product, avoid waste and synchronize coastwide operations. It can also be delayed to have an orderly opening in conjunction with California and Washington. However, California has already noted it will not consider opening earlier than Jan. 1, 2026.
ODFW will continue posting weekly updates until an opening date is finalized.
The commercial bay crab season will close at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 1 alongside the delayed ocean fishery. If the ocean season opens in December, bay crabbers will be able to resume fishing as well.
National
As the Arctic heats up, the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaker fleet is preparing for boom times
The Trump administration and Congress, seeking to improve security, have approved funding for eight icebreakers and are planning even more
Alaska Beacon by James Brooks and Tom Banse - November 24, 2025
On a dreary November day in Seattle, the U.S. Coast Guard put its past and future on display.Within sight of the Space Needle, three eye-catching red icebreakers towered over Pier 36. It was the first time since 2006 that the Coast Guard has had three active icebreakers in the same place at the same time.
Trump administration proposes offshore leasing in almost all Alaska waters
A new five-year offshore oil and gas leasing plan proposes 21 sales in Alaska, from the Gulf of Alaska to the High Arctic, and 13 more off the U.S. West Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico
Alaska Beacon by Yereth Rosen - November 21, 2025
The Trump administration on Thursday released a plan for offshore oil and gas leasing that would open up almost all Alaska marine waters to development, along with the entire Pacific coast and the Gulf of Mexico.
Incoming NFI chair testifies on FISH Act before Congress, criticizes SIMP
SeafoodSource by Nathan Strout - November 21, 2025
The incoming chair of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), Bay Hill Seafood Sales President Justin Conrad, testified in favor of the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act during a 19 November Congressional hearing, arguing that it would do more to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing than current regulations.
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