Salmon Fishermen

Alaska's salmon fishermen are, by law, all Owner-Operators, meaning the license holder must be on the vessel during harvesting operations. As a result, there is no corporate ownership of the harvester side of the salmon fishery.

Alaska's Salmon fishery is a small boat fishery, with vessels limited to no more than 58 feet. Most vessels are in the 30-45 foot range, and many are operated and crewed by families.

The salmon fishery is one of Alaska's largest employers and a bedrock of most coastal communities. Some salmon fishermen have formed fishing cooperatives in an effort to capture more of the value from their harvest. It is these fishermen that CONSERVATION SALMON is dedicated to working with.

Fishermen in control of their lives (and their livelihoods) put more energy and care into the details of producing great seafood, from catching to cleaning, packing and shipping.

Alaska's salmon fishermen are a most protective constituency of the salmon resource and dependent habitat. Their livelihoods depend on it! Over the years, they have worked to implement legal protections for habitat. They were instrumental in the 1980s in developing and securing the Forest Practices Act, legislation regulating timber harvests in coastal watersheds where wild salmon spawn. They organized to defeat proposals to allow farmed salmon operations to gain a place in State waters.

However, development pressures never cease in Alaska. Timber, mining, oil and gas, and tourism development are constant competitors for the salmon habitat.

CONSERVATION SALMON is your link to rewarding and supporting these dedicated fishermen and their communities.