Anchorage Daily News

KODIAK -- Commercial fishing in Alaska remains a vibrant industry that each year provides more than half our nation's wild-caught seafood. Alaska's fishery resources are the envy of other countries, and its management programs are regarded as a model for sustainability. The seafood industry also provides more direct jobs than the oil/gas, mining, agriculture, forestry and tourism industries combined.

Here is a sample of seafood industry highlights from 2008.

• High fuel prices that topped $5 per gallon idled 20 percent of Kodiak's trawl fleet, and hundreds of local seafood workers. Salmon boats stayed out between fishing openers, hurting coastal economies.

• New data from the state Department of Labor revealed the average age of Alaska commercial fishermen was 47; nearly 40 percent were non-residents.

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.

• Nearly half of the state's fishery biologists continued to drift away due to retirement -- or they're lured by federal pay checks ranging from 35 to 80 percent higher.

• The University of Alaska added a bachelor of arts degree in fisheries, its fourth fisheries degree program. Nearly 40 percent of University graduates go to work for Fish and Game or federal agencies in Alaska.

• Beech-Nut Corp. launched wild Alaska salmon baby food, using pink salmon from Ocean Beauty Seafoods

• The Bush administration opened 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.

• Fishing retained the dubious distinction as America's most dangerous occupation, with on-the-job death rates 36 times greater than the average job. The Pacific Dungeness crab fishery ranked as the deadliest catch, with 17 deaths in the past seven years. That's 50 percent higher than Bering Sea crabbers.

• Bering Sea king crab base prices increased to $5 a pound, up from $4.19 last year. The 2007-2008 king and Tanner crab fisheries had a landing value of $202 million. Meanwhile, disenfranchised crab crews continued efforts to obtain a share of the crab quotas.

• Trendy new lunch entrees made from Alaska pollock got "kid approved" at schools in Fairbanks and Kenai. Salmon wraps by Taco Loco of Anchorage also scored big with school kids. Bristol Bay fishermen and Peter Pan Seafood expanded their salmon giveaway to more schools and senior centers in Western Alaska.

• Halibut prices continued to hover near or above $5 a pound at major ports. Early estimates peg the dockside value for halibut at $175 million, an increase of $3 million from 2007. For black cod, the value was $69 million, up $7 million from last year.

• Exxon finally started cutting checks to 32,000 oil spill plaintiffs, after a 19-year wait for the punitive damages. The U.S. Supreme Court reduced the punitive award from $2.5 billion to no more than $507 million. Exxon is appealing interest payments of potentially $500 million -- that decision should come this year.

• Alaska's fortunes could be fueled by another kind of oil boom -- omega 3 oils from salmon and other seafoods are the big buzz in the byproducts world. Health benefits make omega 3 fatty acids one of the most popular food additives -- they were added to 250 food products from eggs to orange juice, and the list is growing.

• Dutch Harbor was the nation's top fishing port for the 19th consecutive year. Kodiak held on to the No. 4 spot for seafood landings.

• Coastline cleanup efforts in Alaska reached a milestone -- 1 million pounds of marine debris removed since 2003 in efforts spearheaded by the Juneau-based Marine Conservation Alliance. That's equivalent to four 747 cargo planes full of nets, plastics and other trash.

• Alaska pollock catches were cut nearly 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.

• Fish managers at Bristol Bay got an earful after the sockeye run arrived late and all at once, overwhelming processing capacity. Idled fishermen estimated 3 million fish swam upriver that they could have caught, resulting in a harvest lower than projected 28 million reds.

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Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based fisheries journalist. Her Fish Radio programs can be heard on stations around the state. Her information column appears every other Sunday. This material is protected by copyright. For information on reprinting or placing on your Web site or newsletter, contact msfish@alaska.com.

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