After a better than expected sockeye salmon harvest in Bristol Bay, Alaska, this past fishing season, the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA) stepped up retail and foodservice promotions and has outlined big plans for 2026.
The 2025 Bristol Bay harvest of 41.2 million sockeye salmon was 31 percent higher than the 2024 harvest and 23 percent higher than the recent 20-year average of 33.6 million sockeye, BBRSDA Executive Director Lilani Dunn told SeafoodSource.
“Alaska saw another strong salmon season overall in 2025, and Bristol Bay once again led the state’s harvest,” Dunn said. “Our ongoing efforts remain centered on consumer education and on distinguishing wild sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay across key audiences, including domestic retail buyers, international markets, the culinary sector, and consumers.”
To that end, more than three dozen restaurants and Whole Foods Market stores in the Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., area participated in the BBRSDA-led Bristol Bay Salmon Week from 7 to 22 November. The fish was featured in “everything from fine dining to fast-casual spots – even breakfast dishes,” Dunn said.
“What diners noticed this fall and during Bristol Bay Salmon Week is just how versatile and high-quality the salmon is,” Dunn said. "You can also purchase it year-round in the freezer section of local grocery stores, retailers, and direct marketers.”
Now in its fourth year, Bristol Bay Salmon Week has grown from a handful of participating restaurants to nearly 40.
This is also the second year that retailer Whole Foods Market has joined the celebration in Seattle with cooking demonstrations and special promotions.
“What’s unique about these retail promotions during Salmon Week is that they feature a real Bristol Bay fisherman in the store, sharing their passion with shoppers,” Dunn said.
Whole Foods has been a longtime supporter of Bristol Bay sockeye, according to Dunn, and members of the retailer’s team visited Bristol Bay this summer to see the fishery firsthand.
“What we’re building with these relationships and events like Salmon Week goes beyond marketing; it’s an authentic, grassroots movement celebrating this incredible resource,” she said.
In addition to Salmon Week, BBRSDA partners with national retailers such as Costco and Whole Foods, along with regional grocers such as H-E-B, Harris Teeter, Heinen’s, Hy-Vee, and Publix, throughout the year.
In 2026, BBRSDA plans to launch multiple nationwide retail promotions “designed to further elevate awareness of the Bristol Bay fishery and its fishers while underscoring the exceptional nutritional qualities and sustainable provenance of sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay,” Dunn said.
