Fisheries and FishBiz
Alaska’s fisheries are critical to its livelihood
Alaska is home to several of the largest and most valuable commercial, subsistence, and sport fisheries in the nation. Commercial fisheries in the federally managed waters of the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska produce the highest volumes of groundfish (pollock, cod, rockfish, sablefish, and flatfish) in the country, close to 2 million metric tons per year, valued in 2013 in excess of $2 billion.
Wild salmon fisheries range from Ketchikan in the south to Kotzebue, north of the Arctic Circle. In 2014, the commercial catch of salmon in Alaska totaled more than 717 million fish worth $576 million.
Crab fisheries in the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and Southeastern are annually valued at over $280 million with halibut fisheries contributing over $140 million.
Subsistence fishing is critical to the cultural as well as economic well-being of the more than 100,000 Alaska Natives and non-Natives living in rural Alaska. Four percent of fish harvested in Alaska is used for subsistence purposes.
Sport fishing is also important, occurring in saltwater and freshwater regions of Alaska.
How Alaska Sea Grant helps fisheries
The Marine Advisory Program provides information and technical assistance to Alaskans involved in commercial, subsistence and sport fishing. We coordinate workshops, carry out applied research, and publish materials of interest to fishermen.
Fisheries Explorer map
Visit the interactive Fisheries Explorer map to learn about various commercial fisheries around the state, including harvest seasons, commercial access, gear types, and links to more in-depth information. The results can be filtered by region, species, gear types, and more.
News
Humpback whale sightings are becoming increasingly common in Unalaska, and so are whale entanglements. In late October 2018, Alaska Sea Grant’s Melissa Good helped coordinate efforts to successfully free a…
Fishing and seafood-industry professionals will join academics at the 32nd Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium in Anchorage next spring. The symposium’s theme is “Cooperative Research — strategies for integrating industry perspectives…
Alaska Sea Grant-supported researchers won a national award at Sea Grant Week in Portland, Ore., this month for a study on how to boost access to Alaska commercial fisheries by…
Some exciting science detective work is going on in the Aleutian Islands, home to 1,100 miles of remote marine habitat and some of the world’s richest fishing grounds. Because this…
The popular class, Introduction to Starting and Operating a Seafood Direct Marketing Business, taught via distance delivery is being offered again by Alaska Sea Grant over two weeks in October and…
When you hear the word rainforest, people often associate it with something tropical. Residents of Southeast Alaska might think differently though, since they’re surrounded by the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest,…
Fall is just around the corner, and with it comes a new suite of classes offered by Alaska Sea Grant. The Alaska Seafood School offers trainings and classes for fishermen,…
Christopher Sergeant is studying Southeast Alaska watersheds as part of his doctoral research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. Along with his advisor, Assistant Prof. Jeffrey Falke, and partners at the U.S. Forest Service, Alaska Sea Grant and Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, Sergeant is working on an Alaska Sea Grant-funded project to assess the resilience of Southeast Alaska salmon.
FishBiz includes financial and business tools, resources, and training for Alaska commercial seafood harvesters. Find information on starting and managing your business, growing and diversifying, and planning an exit strategy.
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Upcoming training
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Business of Fishing – February 2026
February 23–February 27
See all Alaska Sea Grant workshops, classes, and conferences
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