Fish Factor: Harvest boost anticipated in Pacific halibut fishery
The Pacific halibut stock appears to be on an upswing and could result in increased catches for most regions in 2022.
Fish Factor: Sockeye salmon prices near record highs, boosting harvester paychecks
Strong global and U.S. demand for sockeye salmon has pushed prices to near record highs and boosted fishermen’s paychecks.
Picks and Pans: The best and worst in the 2021 seafood industry
Since 1991 the weekly Fish Factor column has highlighted Alaska’s seafood industry with its annual “Picks and Pans — a no-holds-barred look back at some of the year’s best and worst happenings, and my choice for the year’s biggest fish story.
Fish Factor: There’s a whole lot of fishing going on
Wow, there is a lot of fishing going on across Alaska! Salmon is the heart of Alaska’s seafood industry, but winter is when the fishing action really begins. Hundreds of boats are out on the water on the first day of each new year, beginning a predictable rhythm for the seafood industry as millions of pounds of fish begin to cross the docks around the clock at Alaska’s working waterfronts.
Fish Factor: ASMI updates snapshot of Alaska fisheries
Where do most Alaska fishermen live? Which Alaska region is home to the most fishing boats? The answers can be found in an easy to read, colorful economic report by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute for 2019/2020 that includes all regions from Ketchikan to Kotzebue.
Fish Factor: Lawmakers push to get tough on trade policies
Seafood is Alaska’s biggest export by far and lawmakers are getting tough on trade policies that unfairly trounce global sales.
Fish Factor: Alaska seaweed farming shows great potential
The U.S. grows less than one-hundredth of one percent of the world’s $6 billion seaweed market but Alaska has the goods to grow into a major contributor.
Fish Factor: Alaska seafood industry wants Russia’s seafood out of US
“If they don’t buy from us, we shouldn’t buy from them,” Alaska’s seafood industry has grumbled since 2014 when Russia abruptly banned all food imports from the U.S and several other countries. Then, as now, the face-off stemmed from Russia’s invasion and subsequent takeover of chunks of Ukraine which prompted backlash and severe sanctions.
Fish Factor: Bycatch Review Task Force hard at work
Gotta give the Dunleavy Administration credit for being the first to try and get to the bottom of one of Alaska’s most troubling fishing issues: bycatch.
Fish Factor: Robust return of salmon to hatcheries in 2021 paid out $142 million
Salmon returning home to Alaska hatcheries again accounted for nearly one-third of the 2021 statewide catch for commercial fishermen at 64 million fish. It was the 8th largest hatchery homecoming since 1977 and at a payout of $142 million, the salmon produced 25% of the overall value at the Alaska docks.
