November 25, 2025
Salmon Hatcheries for Alaska is aware of the documentary Trouble at Sea released today, and we are reviewing it carefully.
Some early assertions circulating online — including claims that Alaska’s hatchery salmon production is increasing — are false. Hatchery production levels have not increased since 2019, and Alaska’s hatchery program is one of the most tightly regulated and closely monitored enhancement systems in the world, reflecting the State of Alaska’s statutory mandate to protect and responsibly manage our natural resources.
We also want to be clear about the science around ocean abundance and competition.
According to research estimates cited in Ruggerone and Irvine (2018, using data from 1990–2015):
Hatchery-produced pink salmon from all countries represent about 15% of the total pink salmon biomass in the North Pacific.
Alaska hatchery-produced pink salmon make up about 10% of the total pink salmon biomass.
Alaska hatchery-produced pink salmon account for less than 1% of total nektonic biomass (all freely swimming marine species in the ocean) in the North Pacific.
The idea that Alaska’s hatchery pink salmon are overwhelming wild stocks is not supported by the data, and it contradicts decades of international scientific research and lived Alaska history, including many years of record wild stock returns alongside robust hatchery programs.
It is also important to address inferences that Alaska’s hatchery programs are responsible for the salmon crisis in the Arctic–Yukon–Kuskokwim (AYK) region. As Alaskans, there is deep empathy for Western Alaska communities facing painful restrictions and, in some cases, an inability to harvest salmon at all. Current science published by NOAA and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game identifies rapid climate-driven changes in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska—marine heatwaves, shifting ocean food webs, and changing freshwater conditions—as the primary drivers of recent AYK Chinook and chum crashes, not the Alaska private nonprofit hatchery program.
Alaska’s private nonprofit hatcheries operate under state law with a clear statutory and public purpose: to supplement — not replace — wild stock abundance for the benefit of all Alaskans. These programs support sustainable salmon runs, reduce pressure on wild stocks, strengthen returns during years of lower abundance, and boost food security and harvest opportunities for commercial, sport, subsistence, and personal-use fishermen across the state.
Salmon Hatcheries for Alaska is conducting a full, detailed review of the film and the claims it presents. After completing that review, we will be releasing additional information to provide clear, accurate, science-based context about Alaska’s hatchery system and its essential role in statewide fisheries sustainability.
Our commitment remains unwavering: transparency, rigorous science, and responsible stewardship of Alaska’s salmon to benefit all Alaskan user groups.