ALASKA SALMON FISHING JOBS

Salmon fisheries are the most important in Alaska, both in terms of the people employed and product value. The annual harvest of Alaska chinook, coho, sockeye, chum, and pink salmon employs nearly 31,000 people every June, July, and August. The majority of those who go north to Alaska every summer work in a sector of the salmon fisheries.

Alaska's salmon fisheries have had their share of ups and downs in the last few years. The state-wide 2001 commercial salmon harvest had an ex-vessel (amount the fisherman gets for his or her catch) value of $216 million. This is down from the 2000 value of $272 million due to the lower prices of recent years. Even though the fish runs and amount of fish harvested have been really strong over the last ten years, the ex-vessel value has been decreasing mostly due to the amount of fish on the market (supply vs demand).  The amount of farm raised salmon has greatly increased the amount of fish on the market, which has helped put pressure on the price fishermen get for their catch.

In reality, the price of fish or ex-vessel value has little to do with how much a processor can make, but it does have an impact on how much a deckhand can make.

There are five main types of salmon caught in Alaska waters.

Alaska Salmon >>>