Laine Welch
Laine Welch has covered the Alaska fish beat for print and radio since 1988. She also has worked “behind the counter” at retail and wholesale seafood companies in Kodiak and on Cape Cod. She retired in April 2022 from her Fish Factor reports, but now produces a blog at alaskafish.news.
Early Cook Inlet fisheries pay big bucks
Two commercial fisheries open each spring at Upper Cook Inlet that attract little notice and few participants, but each pays big bucks to fishermen.The...
Halibut values facing strong headwinds
Alaska halibut is facing strong headwinds that have dampened the value of the catch shares needed to go fishing.Increasing imports of Atlantic halibut from...
Fish Factor: Lackluster forecast impacts salmon permit values
Spring is usually the busiest time of year for brokers in the buy/sell/trade business for Alaska salmon permits. But that’s not the case this...
Fish Factor: Trifecta of falling fish revenues anticipated
Alaska is expecting a reduced salmon harvest this year, setting up a trifecta of falling fish revenues for Alaska fishermen, coastal communities and state...
Fish Factor: Pacific halibut fishery faces challenges
Pacific halibut catches for 2018 won’t decline as severely as initially feared, but the fishery faces headwinds from several directions.Federal fishery managers announced just...
Message to shellfish buyers: get ugly
“It’s what’s on the inside that counts” is the message Alaska crab marketers are pushing to encouraging their customers to put appearances aside.“We’re telling them...
Fish Factor: Old fishing nets reprocessed into high end plastics
More big bundles of old fishing nets will soon be on their way from Dutch Harbor to Denmark to be remade into high end...
Fish Factor: NIOSH device prevents injuries, death from rotating winch
The most common piece of gear on a seine vessel is also one of the deadliest – the rotating capstan winch used for winding...
Fish Factor: Proposed budget would slash millions from NOAA Fisheries
The Trump Administration’s $4.4 trillion federal budget for next year takes some mean whacks to programs that affect fisheries.Off the top, the spending plan unveiled on...
Fish Factor: European seafood buyers observe Dutch Harbor operations
The nation’s top fishing port welcomed seven European seafood buyers in late January – all women – and showed off its massive seafood industry...
