Alaska/Pacific Coast
Alaska Seafood’s Economic Impact Continues to Grow in U.S. and Globally SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - January 20, 2020 Juneau, AK -- The 2020 update of The Economic Value of Alaska’s Seafood Industry, released yesterday, shows continued growth and positive impacts to state, national, and international economies. Prepared by the McDowell Group for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), the report updates the economic snapshot from 2015/2016. It has tracked the sector since 2013. Approximately 5.7 billion pounds of seafood worth $2.0 billion was harvested annually in 2017/2018, and processors turned this harvest into product worth $4.7 billion. In 2016, those numbers were 5.6 billion pounds harvested with a total ex-vessel value of $1.7 billion. Processors turned that into a wholesale value of $4.2 billion in 2016. To the state itself, economic value has grown in Alaska’s seafood industry in terms of jobs, exports, and manufacturing. The state’s seafood industry employs over 16,300 resident fishermen, 7,300 resident processors, and 6,600 fishing vessels are resident-owned. Seafood is the state’s largest largest manufacturing sector in Alaska, accounting for 70% of the state’s manufacturing employment in 2018, with nearly 26,000 workers. It is also the largest international export by volume and value. “The true value of Alaska seafood extends well beyond the price at the dock,” said ASMI Executive Director Jeremy Woodrow. “ASMI works closely with the Alaska seafood industry to increase the value of the state’s seafood resource to benefit Alaskans and Alaska’s communities.” Nationally, the Alaska seafood industry creates over 100,000 full time equivalent jobs, $5.6 billion in annual labor income and $13.9 billion in economic output. The state exports more than 2.2 billion pounds of seafood annually, returning over $3.2 billion of new money into the U.S. economy each year. The report also shows the importance of investments made by the Alaska seafood industry and their role in increasing the value of Alaska seafood long-term, sustaining the economic resiliency of Alaska. * The seafood industry provides economies of scale and economic activity which lowers the cost of utilities, shipping, fuel and local taxes for residents in many Alaska communities. * Seven of the 10 largest shoreside processors invested a total of over $100 million per year in capital expenditure from 2012-2016 – spending that is closely tied to resource value and has increased in recent years. * An average of 68 newly-built fishing boats were added to the fleet annually over the 2013-2018 period, representing an average investment of more than $50 million per year. * The value of Alaska’s seafood production has exceeded $4.0 billion since 2011. The report also lists the industry’s aggregate tax bill to local, state, and federal authorities. Revenues collected in the form of taxes, fees and self-assessments returned $73 million to state government, $51 million to local governments, $40 million to salmon enhancement operations, and $5 million to the federal government. The 33-page report goes into further detail of the economic value to coastal communities in Alaska and follows the value through the distribution chain to consumers. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1161883/Alaska-Seafoods-Economic-Impact-Continues-to-Grow-in-US-and-Globally Alaska Fisheries Report — Jan. 16, 2020 KMXT by Maggie Wall - January 17, 2020 The Alaska Board of Fisheries continued its Kodiak meeting last week. Two big issues deal with salmon. We hear what some of those testifying have to say. http://kmxt.org/2020/01/alaska-fisheries-report-jan-16-2020/ Federal cash should soon be in hand for Alaska fishermen, processors and towns hurt by the 2016 pink salmon failure Anchorage Daily News by Laine Welch - January 21, 2020 It’s been a long time coming, but payments should soon be in hand for Alaska fishermen, processors and coastal communities hurt by the 2016 pink salmon run failure, the worst in 40 years. https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2020/01/21/federal-cash-should-soon-be-in-hand-for-alaska-fishermen-processors-and-towns-hurt-by-the-2016-pink-salmon-failure/ Environment/Science Plastics: US Senate takes another shot at marine debris Alaska Public Media by Liz Ruskin - January 14, 2020 The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that aims to reduce plastic debris in the oceans. The bill, called Save Our Seas 2.0, is sponsored by Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. It emphasizes outreach to other countries that are the major sources of plastic marine debris. The bill also has grants for studies to improve domestic infrastructure for waste-handling, and it launches a “genius” prize of at least $100,000 to encourage innovation. It was drafted with the cooperation of the plastics industry. https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/01/14/plastics-us-senate-takes-another-shot-at-marine-debris/ Researchers tap salmon DNA to decode marine mysteries Canada's National Observer by Christopher Pollon - January 20, 2020 Looking back, Christoph Deeg admits he didn’t know what he was getting into when he accepted a job on a high-seas expedition in the dead of winter on the RV Professor Kaganovskiy. https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/01/20/features/researchers-tap-salmon-dna-decode-marine-mysteries Labeling and Marketing 3MMI - The 2019 Russia Pacific Salmon Fishery TradexFoods - January 20, 2020 It's looking like another bumper year for Russian Pacific Salmon as preliminary 2019 catch totals show 497,738 metric tonnes harvested - equivalent to over 1 billion pounds of Salmon. (For comparison, Alaska harvested 872.1 million lbs in 2019). Although projections for 2020 have not been publicly made available yet, some industry experts do not expect the same abundance in 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mvc7h_1iTw&feature=emb_logo
Ann Owens Pacific Seafood Processors Association Office Manager 1900 W Emerson Place Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98119 Phone: 206.281.1667 E-mail: admin@pspafish.net; Website: www.pspafish.net Our office days/hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. *Inclusion of a news article, report, or other document in this email does not imply PSPA support or endorsement of the information or opinion expressed in the document.