It is fact that each year provides more than half of America’s wild-caught seafood come from Alaska’s fishery resources which are the envy of other countries, and its management programs are regarded as a model for sustainability. It is said that the Alaska’s seafood industry provides more direct jobs than the oil/gas, mining, agriculture, forestry and tourism industries combined. Last year the seafood industry has seen several ups and downs but still going strong. It is said that the number of fishermen peaks at about 20,137 a month during the height of summer salmon runs. The number bumps up to 54,000 a month when processing, transportation, management and support services get added in.
The biggest turn in 2008 was the decision of the Bush administration to open the door for oil/gas lease sales in the southeastern Bering Sea and Bristol Bay. The United Fishermen of Alaska, the nation’s largest fishing trade group, declared fishing rights should be considered as “property rights” in any lease sales. The prices of Bering Sea king crab also increased to $5 a pound, up from $4.19 last year.
The authority has cut down the catches of Alaska pollock in half to 185,000 metric tons. The fleet was also plagued with high Chinook salmon bycatch. Alaska’s statewide salmon harvest of 146 million fish was a decrease of 31 percent from 2007. Still, it was the 16th largest catch since statehood in 1959. And although the value of the catch was down, it topped $400 million at the docks for the second consecutive year.
Definitely Alaska’s fisheries have faced many difficulties but it is going strong with each dramatic turn.
