In May, the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) announced preliminary North Pacific-wide total salmon catches for 2024, as reported by its member countries Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States.
Pacific salmon catch by weight in the North Pacific Ocean during 2024 (528 thousand metric tons) decreased by over 50%.
In 2024, fishers caught 285 million Pacific salmon, a decrease of more than 60% from the previous year. The total catch of Pacific salmon was the lowest since 1988.
Typically, fewer adult salmon are caught in even-numbered years than odd-numbered years because one of the most frequent species in the catch, pink salmon, are less abundant in even-numbered years. The difference in catch between even and odd years appears to be getting stronger in recent years.
Prior to 2020, the annual catch in even-numbered years (i.e., 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018) averaged about 918,000 metric tons (470 million fish), but has declined by 20% or more since then.
The member countries’ portions of total catch included 48% by Russia (251 thousand metric tons), 42% by the United States (221 thousand metric tons of which 212 thousand metric tons was caught in Alaska), 9% by Japan (50 thousand metric tons), 1% by Canada (6 thousand metric tons) and less than 1% by Korea (103 metric tons).
Pink salmon constituted the majority of the total commercial catch (37% by weight) followed by chum (35%) and sockeye salmon (24%), coho comprised 3% of the catch, while Chinook salmon, cherry salmon, and steelhead trout were each less than 1% of the catch by weight.
Pink and chum salmon dominate Asian commercial catches. The Asian commercial salmon catch in 2024 was 300,764 metric tons, which was the lowest catch since 1992, and a 55% decrease compared to 2023.
The pink salmon catch of 136,888 metric tons continues a trend of declining catch in even years since a record high of 516,904 metric tons in 2018.
The 2024 catch of pink salmon in Japan increased 32% from the record low in 2023, while catches in Russia declined by 72% when compared to 2023. The Asian chum catch has declined since 2015, and the 118,812 metric tons caught in 2024 was the lowest since 1980.
Japan caught 46,788 metric tons of chum salmon, which continued the declining trend and was the lowest catch since 1969. Russian catch of chum salmon also declined in 2024 to 71,921 metric tons from a peak of 143,679 metric tons in 2015. Korea caught 103 metric tons of chum salmon in 2024, which was similar to the 2023 catch, but below the 10-year average of 230 metric tons.
The Asian catch of sockeye salmon occurs almost exclusively in Russia. The Russian catch of sockeye salmon in 2024 was 35,330 metric tons, which is about 20% lower than the average catch during the period of peak catch (2012–2019).
The total North American commercial catch of 227,227 metric tons in 2024 was a decrease from 2023 that was expected given the odd and even year patterns in catch; however, it was the lowest catch since 1976 in terms of weight.
The 2024 sockeye salmon catch of 91,464 metric tons was below the 10-year average of 134,942 metric tons and the first time it has been below 100,000 metric tons since 2013.
The North America chum salmon catch in 2024 was about 8% lower than 2023. Previous seasons included three years of increasing catches following the recent low in 2020.
The catch of pink salmon, which had made up 50% of the catch in 2023, was 59,127 metric tons in 2024. The 2024 catch was the lowest since 1975 and 43% below the recent 5-year average of 103,007 metric tons for even years.
Sockeye and pink salmon are the primary species caught in commercial fisheries in Alaska, followed by chum salmon. The 2024 Alaska sockeye salmon catch was 90,492 metric tons, which comprised about 99% of the sockeye salmon catch in North America and was 48% lower than the record catch in 2022.
Chum salmon catch in Alaska decreased by 17% compared to 2023 but was similar to the recent 10-year average (74,411 metric tons).
The 2024 pink salmon catch continued the odd/even year pattern of lower catches in even years and at 56,867 metric tons, was the lowest catch since 1979.
Pink, chum, and sockeye salmon are typically the most abundant species caught in Canada. Although total commercial catch remains low (5,843 metric tons), total catch in 2024 increased from 2023 but was the sixth lowest on record.
In Washington, Oregon, and California (WOC), Chinook, chum, and coho salmon are typically the most abundant species caught.
In 2024, WOC commercial catch totaled 9,402 metric tons across all salmon species, which was about a 90% increase from 2023 even though catch remains low compared to historical levels.
Hatchery releases of salmon and steelhead from NPAFC member countries have been stable since 1993, with approximately five billion fish released annually. The number of salmon released in 2024 was the 8th highest on record, but 354 million fewer salmon than the record number of 5.5 billion released in 2019.
Approximately 67% of the hatchery releases were chum salmon, followed by pink salmon at 23%, which marks a slight shift to release of chum salmon when compared to recent years.
In 2024, hatcheries released 5,190 million fish— 2,191 million fish (42.2%) in the United States, 1,621 million (31.2%) in Russia, 1,175 million (22.6%) in Japan, 192 million (3.7%) in Canada (hatchery releases and spawning channel production combined), and 10 million (< 1%) in Korea.
Hatchery releases were primarily chum (3,488 million, 67.2%) and pink (1,186 million, 22.8%), followed by Chinook (239 million, 4.6%), sockeye (174 million, 3.4%), coho salmon (81 million, 1.6%), steelhead trout (16 million, <1%), and cherry salmon (6 million, <1%).
The NPAFC is an international organization that promotes the conservation of Pacific salmon (chum, coho, pink, sockeye, Chinook, and cherry salmon) and steelhead trout in the North Pacific and its adjacent seas, and serves as a venue for cooperation in and coordination of scientific research and enforcement activities.
NPAFC member countries include Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America.
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