The current "Northeast Pacific Pink and Chum Salmon Workshop" originated from an organizational meeting held in Juneau, Alaska, in 1962. The need for a workshop emerged because of concerns over the status of pink salmon stocks in the northeast Pacific and conclusions drawn from two special conferences called by the Governors of Alaska and Washington in the early 1960s. An organizational meeting for the workshop, held in Juneau in 1962, had the stated objective: to promote communication among professional scientists involved with pink salmon research and management in the Pacific northwest, British Columbia, and Alaska. The steering committee that organized the workshop included Don Bevan as Chairman and members Gil Holland, Ted Merrell, Wally Noerenberg, Bill Sheridan, and Bill McNeil.

The second workshop, in 1964, laid the groundwork for future workshops and occurred during a period of intensive research on pink salmon. The primary objective of that workshop was to promote communication among professional fishery biologists. The secondary objectives of that workshop were: to provide information to assist in forecasting problems 5, 10 and 20 years hence; to determine priorities for investment of research resources; to develop a balance between basic and applied research; and to integrate salmon research with research in related areas. A priority of the 1964 workshop was to define and list important research needs for conducting pink salmon fisheries.

Although the early workshops focused on pink salmon, chum salmon were included in some of the discussions because of similarities in the life cycles of the two species. At the 1968 workshop some participants indicated that chum salmon should be explicitly included in the workshop. Papers on chum salmon were presented in 1970 and 1972, and the name of the workshop was officially changed in 1974 to the Northeast Pacific Pink and Chum Salmon Workshop.

From 1962 to 1968 the workshops were held every even year in Alaska. In 1970, British Columbia hosted the workshop in Prince Rupert. Between 1970 and 1980, Alaska and British Columbia alternated hosting the workshops. Beginning in 1983, the workshop was rescheduled to "odd" years to reduce scheduling conflicts with other fisheries meetings occurring in even years. Additionally, in 1983, Washington entered the rotation as a host site for the workshop, along with Alaska and British Columbia.

Personnel from government agencies were the main participants at the early workshops, but that quickly expanded to include individuals from academic institutions, private organizations, international commissions, tribal groups, and the fish processing industry. Another positive change in the workshops that has occurred is the increasing participation of Russian and Japanese researchers, who often face similar challenges in understanding and managing their pink and chum salmon stocks. It was evident from papers presented at the 2001 workshop, that research on pink and chum salmon is becoming more interdisciplinary, drawing on methods and analyses developed in fields as diverse as oceanography, climatology, ecology, physiology, and genetics. The need for more comprehensive investigative approaches will continue to grow with the challenges confronting pink and chum salmon populations.