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.
Fish Factor: Lower supply pushed up price of wild Pacific salmon
Now that the 2020 pack of Alaska salmon has been caught and put up, stakeholders will get a better picture of how global prices may rise or fall.
Fish Factor: 2020 seafood harvest in line with previous years
Some surprising results are revealed in the first of a series of briefing papers showing how Alaska’s seafood industry has been affected by the pandemic from dock to dinner plates.
Fish Factor: Fishermen’s relief funds welcomed as unfair trade deals drag on
Jerky made from Alaska pollock attracted the attention of big backers beginning at a buffet table at Fish 2.0, an annual global gathering of innovators and investors hosted by Stanford University to grow the sustainable seafood sector.
Fish Factor: Bering Sea crabbers await 2020-21 catch limits
Bering Sea crabbers will soon know how much they can pull up in their pots for the upcoming season that opens Oct. 15.
Fish Factor: U.S. Senate debate is on tap for 2020 ComFish Alaska
Kodiak has again scored a first debate between candidates in one of Alaska’s most high-profile political races: the U.S. Senate.
Fish Factor: Pandemic costs to seafood processors are in the millions
Alaska seafood processors are paying tens of millions of dollars extra to cover costs from the COVID-19 pandemic, and most of it is coming out of pocket.
Fish Factor: Goodfish puts skin in the game to market wild salmon
Snacks that are good for people and the planet now come in the form of crispy chips made from Bristol Bay sockeye salmon skins.
Fish Factor: Gross supports options for affordable health care for all, including harvesters
Dr. Al Gross has promised to be an "independent voice for Alaska," writes Laine Welch.
Fish Factor: Poor salmon returns spell disaster for many communities
Salmon returns have been so poor that communities already are claiming fishery disasters.
Fish Factor: Federal dietary report advises eating more seafood
It got little attention from the mainstream media, but seafood netted some historic firsts in the nation’s new dietary guidelines.
