Federal Decision Keeps Chinook Management in Alaska's Hands

The National Marine Fisheries Service has decided that listing Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon under the Endangered Species Act is not warranted. The decision preserves state control over fisheries management after an extensive review of salmon abundance, habitat quality, harvest, and other factors.

The decision follows a court-ordered deadline imposed after Wild Fish Conservancy petitioned NOAA Fisheries in January 2024 to list Gulf of Alaska Chinook under the ESA. NOAA Fisheries made a positive 90-day finding in 2024 that listing may be warranted, which started a 12-month review. A U.S. District Court approved a settlement requiring NOAA Fisheries to decide by May 13, 2026, whether the salmon warranted protection after the agency missed its statutory deadline.

Wild Fish Conservancy's petition came amid chronic declines in Chinook populations across the Gulf of Alaska. If the listing had occurred, oversight of Chinook management would have transferred to the federal government.

"This decision by NMFS Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler indicates strong support for Alaska's management of natural resources," Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang said. "Alaska became a state, in large part, to hold authority over our own natural resources such as fisheries. Since then, the sound science and fisheries management by our department has been recognized globally."

Vincent-Lang said biological indicators cited in the petition were grossly inadequate to support an ESA listing. "Failing to meet an escapement goal is not evidence that a stock is at risk of extinction. Rather it is a proactive management trigger to ensure stocks are not overfished," Vincent-Lang said. "Alaska takes the decline in Chinook abundance very seriously. That is why we have taken significant management actions to reduce harvest and have invested heavily in research to better understand the causes of reduced productivity of these stocks."

The state says Gulf of Alaska Chinook do not come close to meeting the definition for listing under the ESA.

Changing ocean conditions have reduced Chinook productivity statewide since 2007. Trends vary by river system, and some stocks have recently improved. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced conservation measures for western Alaska king salmon fisheries in March 2025.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the decision in a May 13, 2026, press release.