Salmon return to their natal stream to spawn, passing through enclosed bays and shallow water, on their way to the upriver spawning grounds. Alaska’s fishery managers take advantage of the anadromous behavior of salmon. They observe and count the fish, and ensure that sufficient numbers of adult spawners escape the fishery, and swim up the rivers to spawn.
Salmon also school tightly, and do not mix very much with other species of fishes. This means that commercial salmon fishing has virtually no incidental catch, or bycatch, of non-salmon fishes.
Alaska salmon are caught only in specific, tightly regulated areas within state waters up to three nautical miles offshore. They are harvested by fishermen, families, and Alaska Natives, many of whom are owner-operators, meaning that they are independent businesses operating their own boats.
