Alaska Seafood Harvesting Jobs Rise 4%

Harvester employment grew statewide in 2025 after five years of decline, though the Aleutians and Pribilof Islands lost jobs.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Employment

Weathered commercial fishing dock with coiled rope and stacked fish totes, dark headlands rising behind a low bank of fog over cold northern water. — Alaska seafood harvesting employment rose 4% in 2025, averaging more than 200 added jobs per month after a five-year decline. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Alaska seafood harvesting jobs increased by 4% in 2025 over 2024, averaging more than 200 additional jobs per month. The gain followed a five-year decline and came after job numbers hit an all-time low in 2024.

Why it matters

The increase reverses a long downward trend in harvesting employment that has affected coastal communities across the state. Gains were concentrated in salmon and groundfish-linked work, while the Aleutians and Pribilof Islands saw losses.

State employment figures show harvesting jobs rose 4% in 2025 over 2024, adding more than 200 positions per month on average. The data do not indicate whether the growth will hold, and a further increase in 2026 is only a possibility.

The players

Aleutians and Pribilof Islands

Island communities in western Alaska that lost 4% of seafood harvester jobs in 2025, with groundfish harvesters there down 7%.

Kodiak

An Alaska region whose groundfish activity helped drive the statewide job gains in 2025.

The details

Salmon harvesters make up more than half of statewide seafood harvesting jobs, and groundfish-linked harvesting also grew in 2025. Red king crab and snow crab fisheries in the Bering Sea closed, and no new fishery closures occurred in 2025. Consolidation in groundfish and crab fisheries, along with multiple permits fished on the same boat, has reduced the number of people needed to harvest fish, particularly in the Aleutians.

• 2019: Seafood harvesting jobs last rose before the 2025 increase.
• 2020: The pandemic-era decline in harvesting jobs begins.
• 2024: Harvesting job numbers reach an all-time low.
• 2025: Harvesting jobs increase 4% statewide.

Market Landscape

The 2025 gain reverses a five-year slide in seafood harvesting employment that began during the pandemic, even as other industries recovered once COVID measures ended. Whether the reversal marks a durable turn or a single-year rebound remains unclear.

For Alaskans considering work on fishing boats or in processing, the 2025 gain signals more available harvesting positions, though gains were uneven across regions. Residents in the Aleutians and Pribilof Islands face fewer harvester jobs and should weigh that when planning careers.

The takeaway

Harvesting job growth in Alaska is real but regionally uneven, so workers in affected coastal communities should track sector-specific data rather than relying on the statewide figure alone. The statewide 4% rise does not mean every fishing community is recovering.