Introduction | People | Fish | Habitat Activities | Index | Feedback | New Commercial and Recreational Importance Alaska's fisheries employ more people than any other state industry. Fishermen caught 218 million salmon in 1995 with an ex-vessel value of more than $461 million. The largest Chinook salmon ever documented was a 126 lb fish caught in a fish trap near Petersburg in December, 1939. A 97 lb chinook was caught on sport tackle in the Kenai River. Sport fishermen spend more than $500 million in the state each year. Cultural Importance Rich salmon resources are probably what allowed the first Athabaskan people to settle and survive in interior Alaska's extremely harsh climate. Native people in 1,500 households in over 60 communities along the Yukon River harvest over 408,000 salmon for subsistence use every year. Rural Alaskans eat an average of 230 pounds of fish per person per year. The chum salmon is locally known as dog salmon because of its importance as food for dog teams once critical for transportation in remote areas. Ecological Importance Alaska contains 63% of the total wetland acreage in the United States. Over half of the state is covered by wetlands and salmon are critical to the productivity of these ecosystems. Salmon that spawn and die enrich interior Alaska's nutrient-poor streams with nitrates and phosphates collected during their ocean existence. Late runs of chum salmon in southeast Alaska's Chilkat River support concentrations of up to 3,500 wintering bald eagles. Text and graphics by USFWS staff Last modified 24 January, 2006