Cordova ranked 15th in the nation in the latest NOAA Fisheries report on the status of American fisheries, circa 2017.
Commercial deliveries to Cordova in 2017 totaled 99 million pounds of seafood, up from 35 million pounds in 2016. Cordova also ranked 11th in the value of commercial seafood deliveries, at $65 million, compared with $38 million in 2016.
In all, a dozen Alaska ports ranked among the top 50 nationwide for number of pounds of seafood delivered, with 2,782 million pounds, worth $1,119 million.
Dutch Harbor, as usual, was a standout as the number one fishing port by volume at 769 million pounds of seafood delivered, down just a million pounds from 2016, and Dutch Harbor ranked second again behind New Bedford, MA, with seafood deliveries valued at $173 million, down from $198 million in 2016, compared to New Bedford deliveries valued at $390 million, up from $327 million in 2016.
Along with Cordova in 2017, other Alaska ports with a boost in deliveries in 2017 included the Aleutian Islands, Kodiak, Alaska Peninsula, Naknek, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Seward, Kenai and Juneau. Bristol Bay, like Dutch Harbor saws a deliver in the volume of deliveries, dropping to 43 million pounds from a previous 54 million pounds.
Increased value among Alaska ports included Naknek, Kodiak the Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands, Sitka, Cordova, Seward, Petersburg, Ketchikan, Kenai and Juneau. While both Dutch Harbor and Bristol Bay saw a decline in overall value as well as volume.
Landing estimates for this report are derived by combining the National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Regional Office’s new catch accounting system for groundfish and the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission-soured fish tickets for species other than groundfish.
