Performance Details

Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development - Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute

• Return to Departments
• Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development website

Mission

Increase the economic value of Alaska seafood resources.

Core Services

• United States and International Retail and Foodservice Alaska Seafood Promotion, Public Relations, and Communications and Seafood Quality Technical Support.

Mission Results

Core Services

A: Increased economic value of Alaska"s seafood resources. Details > TARGET #1: Increase the first wholesale value of selected Alaska salmon products by 0.5 percent. TARGET #2: Maintain first place ranking of Alaska Seafood among the most popular food brands on United States restaurant menus.

A1: United States and International Retail and Foodservice Alaska Seafood Promotion, Public Relations, and Communications and Seafood Quality Technical Support. Details > TARGET #1: Increase the aggregate value of Alaska seafood exports to Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) program destination countries by 0.5 percent annually. TARGET #2: Increase the ex-vessel value of key species in Alaska"s commercial harvest by 0.5 percent annually. TARGET #3: Continue to generate target consumer awareness via consumer public relations and advertising campaigns.

Performance Detail

Target #1: Increase the first wholesale value of selected Alaska salmon products by 0.5 percent. Methodology: ADF&G, Commercial Operators Annual Report (Ex-Vessel Value) and Alaska Department of Revenue (First Wholesale Value), compiled by McKinley Research Group. *2023 values are preliminary as of October 2024. Analysis of results and challenges: Ex-vessel value refers to the value of payments made to fishermen by processors. First wholesale value is revenue received by processors when they sell processed seafood outside of their network. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) strives to increase the value of Alaska seafood products and increase the first wholesale value and ex-vessel value of all commercially harvested species of seafood for fishermen, processors, communities, and the State of Alaska. ASMI"s long-term goal is to increase the value of Alaska"s salmon resource with the understanding that there will be fluctuations from year to year. For example, higher pink salmon catches in odd-numbered years produce larger harvest volume and values than in even-numbered years. Results • Ex-vessel value from Alaska`s salmon fisheries totaled $390 million in 2024, a 27% decrease from the prior year. The total ex-vessel value of Alaska`s salmon harvest was significantly impacted by low harvest volume in 2024, a 50% decrease in volume from 2023. • Total first wholesale salmon value declined between 2023 and 2024. Preliminary data indicate first wholesale value of salmon totaled $1.2 billion in 2024, a 27% decrease from 2023. As with ex-vessel values, this decline was significantly impacted by low harvest volume in 2024 • Averaging two years of salmon data smooths fluctuations due to the two-year life cycle of pink salmon and is standard practice in calculating the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of these indicators. While values have fluctuated over the past decade, ex-vessel values have decreased slightly. The 2023/2024 average ex-vessel value of salmon harvests was $461 million, a 16% decrease from the 2014/2015 average of $551 million. This represents a CAGR of -1.8%. • The 2023/2024 average first wholesale value of salmon production in Alaska was $1.4 billion, a 0.3% increase from the 2014/2015 average and a 0.03% CAGR over the ten-year period. • Preliminary data suggest wholesale sockeye salmon prices increased in 2024 compared to 2023 amid lower harvest volume and the sell down of high inventories in 2022 and 2023. Summary of market challenges and opportunities: Challenges: • Low pink salmon harvest in 2024 and 2025 may lead to supply constraints through the end of 2025 and into 2026. Pink salmon harvest volume in 2024 was 49% below 2022 harvests, the most recent comparable harvest year due to the two-year lifecycle of pink salmon. 2025 harvests also remain below expected levels, although remain within the five-year average. Pink salmon markets rely on carryover inventory from stronger runs to maintain market demand through weaker harvest years. With a weak harvest in both 2024 and 2025, total product availability is a concern leading into 2026. • Long-term biological challenges for the wild salmon market include uncertainty caused by climate change, which may benefit some salmon runs, while hurting others. Recent trends towards smaller average salmon size are a concern because they decrease total biomass and the recovery rate per fish. • The continued growth of the farmed Atlantic salmon industry is a long-term challenge to the wild Alaska salmon market. This is especially true of higher-quality farmed products that share some of wild salmon`s higher-end attributes. The future of Alaska seafood competitiveness depends on quality, reliability, and reputation. Opportunities: • Sustainable, wild-caught seafood is a limited resource that world consumers seek out for its health, taste, social and environmental qualities. Alaska salmon is positioned to increase in value in a market where buyers ask for healthy and environmentally friendly foods. • An Executive Order under the Biden administration banning the importation of seafood harvested in Russian waters to the U.S. created an opportunity for increased Alaska seafood consumption in the domestic market. Estimated Russian seafood imports to the U.S. in 2022 totaled over $452 million, primarily in cod, salmon and pollock. The durability of sanctions on Russian seafood products is an open question; while not expected in the immediate term, a reversal of this policy could turn an opportunity into a challenge. • Preliminary data suggests a total harvest of about 186 million salmon through September 2025. This is an overall increase of roughly 85 million salmon in 2025, largely due to the significant year-over-year increase in pink salmon. Total harvest of all salmon species except for chinook have increased year-over-year. Target Last Modified: 12/04/2025

Target #2: Maintain first place ranking of Alaska Seafood among the most popular food brands on United States restaurant menus. Methodology: Dataessentials Research. Analysis of results and challenges: Alaska Seafood maintained strong brand recognition as the #1 protein brand on U.S. restaurant menus. According to Technomic in 2024, 74 percent of consumers reported being more likely to order seafood if the Alaska Seafood logo is on the menu, and seafood from Alaska is more appealing to consumers than any other origin. This consumer research is conducted every other year and will be updated in 2026. Target Last Modified: 12/04/2025

Target #1: Increase the aggregate value of Alaska seafood exports to Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) program destination countries by 0.5 percent annually. Methodology: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), compiled by ASMI staff, McKinley Research Group. *2023 values are preliminary as of October 2024. Analysis of results and challenges: Export markets are critical to Alaska"s seafood industry, accounting for 60% to 80% of first wholesale value each year. Growth in export volume and value helps maintain markets for Alaska seafood and supports higher values for the State"s annual production. Results • In 2024, the total value of exports to ASMI program countries decreased by 3.9%, roughly in line with the 1.2% decrease in export volume. Exports fell most significantly in South Korea and Japan. • Despite an overall decline in harvest value, total export value increased in five ASMI program areas while decreasing in the remaining five. Export value increased for Central Europe, Northern Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the new Middle East/North Africa/West Africa (MENAWA) region. • The export value of Alaska seafood can be volatile and often fluctuates by more than five percent year-to-year. Over the past decade (2015-2024), the compound growth rate in export value was negative 2.2%, below the positive 0.5% annual goal. • Export volumes to non-ASMI program areas declined 21.5% in 2024, with an 18.2% decrease by value, larger than the decrease to ASMI program areas over the same period. Summary of market challenges and opportunities: Challenges: • Many seafood species harvested in Alaska are also commercially harvested in Russia. The U.S. banned import of seafood products directly from Russia in 2022. However, Russian-origin seafood products are priced competitively on the international market. Those lower prices impact the prices that Alaska seafood processors command in international markets which, in turn, negatively impacts ex-vessel prices paid to Alaska`s fishermen. • The relative strength of the U.S. dollar continues to make Alaska seafood less price-competitive in foreign markets, especially those that have access to Russia-origin products, such as Japan. • China remains the largest importer of Alaska seafood despite decreases in export value and volume since 2017. Alaska seafood exports to China decreased by 37.5% between 2017 and 2024, a decline of 152,000 metric tons annually. China is an important center of reprocessing activity for Alaska-origin seafood. However, little Alaska seafood is sold into the growing domestic Chinese seafood market due to continued tariffs on seafood exported from the U.S. • While trade deals with major key seafood importers like the U.K., Japan and the European Union appear to be positive, the fluid nature of tariff rates and market access with other key trading partners like China and countries in Southeast Asia continue to provide risk and uncertainty for Alaskan fishermen and businesses going forward. Changes in supply chains to optimize revenue from exports consume significant time and resources and are not implemented quickly. Opportunities: • Emerging markets for Alaska seafood present opportunities to diversify the base of both potential consumer markets and reprocessing markets. As exports to China have decreased, there has been growing emphasis on shifting exports to other major reprocessing countries such as Vietnam and Thailand. New ASMI program areas such as Middle East, North Africa, West Asia, and Latin America offer new export opportunities to help the Alaska seafood industry diversify. • Sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine in major markets including the EU, the UK, and Japan have the potential to boost Alaska seafood. However, seafood trade restrictions in these countries have so far been weaker than U.S. sanctions. Target Last Modified: 12/04/2025

Target #2: Increase the ex-vessel value of key species in Alaska"s commercial harvest by 0.5 percent annually. Methodology: 2023 is preliminary as of October 2024. Data Sources: ADF&G (Commercial Operators Annual Report and CFEC), National Marine Fisheries Service, and McKinley Research Group estimates. Analysis of results and challenges: The harvest (ex-vessel) value of Alaska"s commercial seafood includes payments from processors to commercial fishermen and the estimated value of fish caught by catcher-processors. Increasing the harvest value of Alaska seafood benefits Alaska residents in the form of economic activity, opportunity and employment, along with state and local tax revenue. Results: • Preliminary data indicate that the ex-vessel value of Alaska seafood totaled $1.3 billion in 2024, a 19% decrease from 2023. • Ex-vessel value declined across nearly all species harvested in Alaska in 2024. Notable exceptions are Atka mackerel (+5%) and crab (+0.5%). Ex-vessel value fell most for Pacific cod (-36%), and salmon (-28%). • Total ex-vessel value averaged $1.496 billion for 2023/2024, a 18.9% decrease from the 2014/2015 average. Over the past decade, the compound annual growth rate in total ex-vessel value was negative 2.1%, below the positive 0.5% annual goal. Summary of market challenges and opportunities: Challenges: • Reorganization occurred among Alaska`s shore-based seafood processors from 2023 through 2025 due to higher production costs and declining product prices. This reorganization could impact ex-vessel prices in the near term. • Tariffs and the relatively strong U.S. dollar remain a challenge to selling Alaska seafood abroad, especially in China which has been the largest direct export market for Alaska seafood. • The natural volatility in harvest volumes from wild fisheries impacts the market. Reduced availability and/or increased price can reduce customer demand or the ability to purchase certain species or products. Additionally, maintaining market share and shelf space can be an issue in times of reduced harvests. Media coverage of closed fisheries or significantly reduced harvests can negatively impact consumer sentiment. Opportunities: • Alaska seafood products have become more affordable to the end consumer as existing inventories purchased at higher prices were sold down in 2024. Continued declines in retail prices may increase demand among domestic consumers. • An Executive Order effective in May 2024 banned the import of Russian-origin seafood products into the U.S. from countries outside of Russia. In 2023 an estimated 70,000 metric tons of Russian-origin cod, salmon, and pollock valued at $452 million was imported into the U.S. from China -- a major reprocessing center for Alaska and Russian seafood. If effective, the ban on these indirect imports of Russian product could increase the domestic market for Alaska seafood. • Export data show a slight increase in the percentage of Alaska seafood sold to the domestic United States market in recent years. The domestic market has great potential for industry: selling Alaska-caught seafood domestically involves fewer logistical steps than selling abroad and is tariff free. The Alaska seafood brand is well aligned with U.S. consumer values as a wild, sustainable, and American-made product. Target Last Modified: 12/04/2025

Target #3: Continue to generate target consumer awareness via consumer public relations and advertising campaigns. Methodology: Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Edelman PR, Carol Merry Mktg, Lotus UK, MK2, RiverGlobal, SMH Int., Crisp Consulting, D. McClellan. Analysis of results and challenges: The number of consumers reached through Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) consumer public relations (PR) efforts decreased by over 37% in FY2025 from the previous year. The FY2025 number shown in the above chart reflects consumers reached through consumer PR efforts in the United States as well as ASMI"s major international program areas, including China, South America and Europe. This is the fifth year ASMI has included international consumer PR impressions in this Performance Measure, as it provides a more accurate representation of the consumers reached through ASMI"s global consumer PR program activities. Reaching consumers in a crowded media environment requires resources. To respond to market needs, such as the large sockeye salmon runs in 2022 and 2023, the ASMI Board of Directors increased the Consumer Public Relations program budget in FY2022 and maintained the elevated budget level in FY2023 and FY2024. In response to fiscal challenges, the Consumer PR budget was reduced in FY2025, significantly impacting the number of consumers reached that year. ASMI will continue to focus on increasing consumer awareness by using various methods of media communication including broadcast, print, social or online media public relations and through consumer promotions and campaigns in both retail and foodservice. Challenges and Opportunities: Traditional in-person consumer PR and marketing activities remain effective. However, rapidly evolving technology and social media preferences require continual shifts in marketing efforts, especially on digital and social media platforms. ASMI again connected with consumers virtually through expansive and targeted social media, earned and paid media relations activities, e-commerce campaigns as well as partnerships with social media influencers with millions of followers. These changing digital habits allow for new ways to educate and excite target consumers on the quality, sustainability, and health benefits of Alaska seafood, increasing the value of the Alaska seafood brand. Target Last Modified: 12/04/2025

Last refreshed: 02/13/2026 05:00 pm