Anchorage Daily News

KODIAK -- Buying locally produced foods is becoming a national trend, but it hasn't made a dent at the local docks. In Kodiak, for example, fishermen seldom sell their catch directly to customers.

"It seems to go in spurts. Five or six fishermen will be interested one year, and the next year there's no interest," said Mike Gardiner, a longtime environmental health officer with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

It is not a complicated process demanding a lot of paperwork or permits, Gardiner said. Fishermen do not even need a direct marketing permit to sell to individual customers or to local stores or restaurants.

A fisherman does need a "mobile retail vendor" permit if he wants to sell his catch at another location, say, from iced totes in the back of a pickup alongside a road.

"The mobile retail vendor would have to wash his fish with approved water, have a means to clean his equipment and use a permitted fish processor as a commissary," Gardiner said.

Of course, fishermen selling directly from their boats must account for their catches, said Kodiak fishery manager Jeff Wadle.

"They have to get a catcher/seller permit and fill out a fish ticket and let us know how many they sell," he said.

Wadle agreed that local fishermen haven't shown much interest in selling their catches directly to customers.

"Typically, we have several fishermen who live in the Lower 48, especially California and Seattle, who have their fish custom-processed locally and take it to the Lower 48 and sell it themselves. That's fairly common. But not so much around town," Wadle said.

Requirements are a bit different for the dockside sale of halibut, which falls under federal management. Fishermen need a "registered buyer" permit, they must offload and weigh the fish at a landing site, and have the catch debited from their quota shares.

A fisherman also needs a product transfer report if the halibut is shipped somewhere before selling it elsewhere.

Based on an informal survey, fishermen in other Alaska ports appear to have a similar disinterest in dockside fish sales. DEC's Gardiner speculates it might be due to convenient arrangements with processors, who can also provide ice and other amenities.

Get more information about dockside sales at www.dec.state.ak.us/eh/.

• Fish school scores funds. Ketchikan is fast becoming a leader in training young Alaskans in fishery science and management careers. Its fisheries technology program through the University of Alaska received a $170,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand its programs, and to partner with shellfish farmers and researchers. Funds are also available for tuition and travel, said professor and program chair Kate Sullivan.

The program offers one-year certificates and two-year degrees in fisheries technology. Students work alongside fisheries professionals in hatcheries and management agencies during required hands-on internships.

It is the third year the Ketchikan program has received a grant through USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, which includes fisheries and aquaculture.

Ketchikan aims to be a world leader in shellfish aquaculture at its new Oceans Alaska center.

"There really isn't a lot of support for shellfish farmers that live and work in remote regions of Southeast Alaska, and it is a good opportunity to enhance their incomes," Sullivan said.

The fish tech program is available to students anywhere in Alaska via distant delivery.

Sullivan said the program opens the door to good paying careers in home communities.

"There is tremendous demand. Over half of the state's fisheries management workforce will retire in the next five to 10 years," she said.

Many opportunities are available under USDA/CREES for Alaska and Hawaii Native-serving institutions, which is a federal designation from the Department of Education.

• Fish watch. The new method of apportioning halibut catches in Alaska regions will be explained at a workshop in Bellevue, Wash., on Sept. 4. Register by Aug. 15 at www.iphc.washington.edu. Questions? Call the IPHC at 206-634-1838.

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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