Species
Alaska salmon varieties: the five species
Alaska has five commercial salmon species: sockeye (red), pink (humpy), chum (dog or keta), coho (silver) and Chinook (king). Each page below has the statewide harvest against ADF&G's preseason forecast, by fishing area.
Data through Nov 4, 2026 · updated Nov 5, 2026
The five Alaska salmon species compared
Shares are of the 194.8 million fish and $541.4 million in ex-vessel value the five species landed in 2025, from ADF&G's preliminary season summary. The cards above carry each species' 2026 harvest.
- Sockeye, or red salmon: 52.6 million fish, 27% of the catch and 58% of the value, about $5.98 a fish. The run peaks from late June into July, and Bristol Bay landed 41.2 million of them. ADF&G says more than half the sockeye catch is sold frozen rather than canned.
- Pink, or humpy: 119.1 million fish, 61% of the catch and 21% of the value, about $0.96 a fish. The smallest species and the backbone of canned salmon, it peaks from late July into August, mostly in Prince William Sound, Kodiak and Southeast.
- Chum, dog or keta salmon: 20.4 million fish, 10% of the catch and 14% of the value, about $3.84 a fish. It runs June through August, much of it from Southeast and Prince William Sound hatcheries, and its roe is a large part of its value.
- Coho, or silver: 2.47 million fish, 1% of the catch and 4% of the value, about $8.69 a fish. The last run of the year, peaking in August and September; Southeast's trollers take the biggest share.
- Chinook, or king: 182,000 fish, under 1% of the catch and 2% of the value, about $68.39 a fish. The first to run, in May and June, and the largest and scarcest; Southeast lands most of them, its troll fleet the largest share.
How sockeye and pink compare at the dock is in sockeye vs pink salmon: the five species and their markets, and when each fishery opens in Alaska salmon season dates by fishery.
Common questions
How many types of salmon are there in Alaska?
Five. ADF&G lists five Pacific salmon species that spawn in Alaska and support directed fisheries: sockeye (red), pink, chum (dog), Chinook (king) and coho (silver). Pinks are the most numerous, 119.1 million of the 194.8 million salmon Alaska's commercial fleet landed in 2025, and sockeye earn the most money, $314.8 million of the $541.4 million ex-vessel value.
Is red salmon the same as sockeye?
Yes. Red salmon is another name for sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka). ADF&G says sockeye bodies turn brilliant red as they return upriver to spawn, which gives them the name; the flesh is a firm, bright orange-red. In 2025 sockeye were 27% of the salmon Alaska's fleet landed and 58% of the dock value. Pink salmon are a different, smaller species worth about $0.96 a fish at the dock in 2025, against about $5.98 for a sockeye.
Which Alaska salmon is the most valuable?
Per fish, Chinook (king) salmon: about $68 each at the dock in 2025, by ADF&G's preliminary figures. In total, sockeye: $314.8 million of the 2025 harvest's $541.4 million ex-vessel value, because the fleet lands tens of millions of them.