About the Alaska Region National Forest System waters in Alaska provide a key link in the production of major commercial, subsistence, and sport fisheries. Located along the fisheries-rich rim of the Gulf of Alaska, the 29,000 miles of streams and 189,000 acres of lakes on the Tongass and Chugach are important producers of fishery resources that are vital to local and regional economies of the state. The seafood industry in Alaska is the state's largest basic employer, providing 33,000 direct, indirect, and induced year-round jobs. Salmon are responsible for about 40 percent of the total value of all seafood catch, and national forest waters are mainly associated with this segment of the industry. In addition to commercial fisheries, national forest waters annually produce an additional one million pounds of salmon for subsistence users and 900,000 recreational fishing-use days for both anadromous and resident fish.
Habitat protection is of the highest priority for the fisheries program.
To accomplish this, the Alaska Region employs approximately 40 fisheries professional and technicians. Fisheries expertise is included on all major projects to ensure that fisheries habitat is protected and that adverse impacts are minimized.