Coho Salmon (also known as Silver’s in North America) compete with Chum Salmon for the title of the second largest wild Pacific salmon, averaging about 6.27 pounds globally last year, down slightly from the 5 and 10-year averages.

Alaska and Russia are the largest producers of Wild Pacific Coho contributing to last year’s global production of about 21,200 metric tonnes from about 7.45 million fish.

In Alaska, Coho landings first register in July and are one of the last two species to peak during Alaska’s Summer Salmon Season. Peak Coho harvest in Alaska typically takes place between mid-August and September.



This year's Alaska Coho harvest is currently 60 percent behind the pace of last year's, and 14 percent below the last even-numbered year, which marked one of the lowest harvests in 30 years. With the slow pace of landings this year, a new record low may be on the horizon.

In Russia, Coho harvest may be surging and latest harvest totals show that about 23 percent of the 10.8 thousand metric tonne forecast has been landed which is also the second highest forecast in the past 5 seasons. In the past 3 even-numbered years, Russia has also harvested more than 100 percent of the Coho forecast.

Regarding sizing, last year Russian Coho averaged about 6.47 pounds, slightly higher than both 5 and 10-year averages. Compare this to Alaskan Coho averaging about 5.93 pounds last year, down almost 1 pound from both 5 and 10-year averages.

On the global stage, while Russia is expected to achieve strong Coho salmon landings this year, Alaska might face a record low. Despite this, Russian-origin salmon remains banned in the USA, and the EU is considering expanding its sanctions to include a wider range of Russian seafood imports.



Given these dynamics, there may be further opportunities for farmed Coho salmon from Chile. Europe has been increasingly importing this fish and is most popular among smokers there. In 2023, Chile's harvest of farmed Coho salmon was approximately 309,000 metric tonnes, marking an increase of about 18 percent compared to 2022.

Our recommendation is to speak to your Tradex Foods representative if you have any interest at all in Wild and/or Farmed Coho Salmon.

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