KODIAK -- The United States is about to spend $50 million in stimulus money on fish food to help fish farmers hit by a 50 percent increase in feed prices last year. According to The Associated Press, the money could "provide algae to nourish clam and oyster larvae along the Pacific coast, fill the bellies of tilapia in Arizona and feed catfish, trout and game fish in the Midwest and South."

Supporters say the money will help preserve jobs in areas hard hit by the recession and lacking other industries.

No mention of where the farmed-fish feed will come from -- currently, most is generated from the catches of species like Peruvian anchovies or menhaden. Using ground- up wild fish to feed farmed fish is a practice that is quickly falling out of favor.

Let's hope that the feed purchasers will "go green" and "buy American" by sourcing some of that fish food from Alaska!

Each year Alaska's fisheries produce an estimated 1.25 million metric tons of "industrial wastes" from fish processing across the state, much of which is turned into meals and oils for aquaculture operations.

"It's the largest volume in North America," said Peter Bechtel, a USDA research leader at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

A 2008 study for the Anchorage-based Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation by Anthony Bimbo estimates Alaska's average fishmeal production at 217,000 tons from 2000-2007; there is no data available on production of salmon meal, and it is not known how much is sold domestically. Assuming a five-year-average price, Alaska-produced fish meal could have reached a value up to $170 million. Bimbo said it is difficult to quantify Alaska fish oil and meal production because fisheries are divided between state and federal jurisdictions and there are different databases.

Ironically, Alaska spends $20 million each year on fish feed for its 35 salmon hatcheries -- feed that comes from South America. At the same time, the tons of fish feed produced by Alaska seafood companies is sold to aquaculture operations in Asia.

Find the study "Alaska Seafood Byproducts: Potential Products, Markets and Competing Products" at www.afdf.org.

ALASKA'S NON-SALMON FISHERIES

Salmon dominates the news at this time of year (96 percent of all U.S. salmon landings come from Alaska), but many other fisheries also occur during the summer.

Alaska's first king crab fishery of the year kicked off this month in Norton Sound near Nome.

Dungeness crab seasons started throughout Southeast and Kodiak.

In July, scallop fisheries begin from Yakutat to Dutch Harbor.

The golden king crab season starts in August along the Aleutians.

Meanwhile, all summer long Alaska fishermen will continue targeting halibut, cod and other ground fish, giant geoduck clams, black cod and many more from the Panhandle to the Bering Sea.

How important are all these fisheries to Alaska? They provide nearly $6 billion worth of economic activity in the state, 78,000 direct and indirect jobs, and 80 percent of the manufacturing that goes on in Alaska is accountable to the seafood industry. The seafood industry provides more Alaska jobs than oil, gas and mining combined.

Find more Alaska fishing facts in a user-friendly report called "The Seafood Industry in Alaska's Economy" by Northern Economics in Anchorage.

HEALTHY SEAFOOD MINERAL

More studies are showing that a naturally occurring mineral in marine fish called selenium is a major overlooked factor in the ongoing food safety debate over mercury and seafood. Selenium is an essential nutrient that is required for a healthy brain and hormone-producing tissues. It also is credited with substantially reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease, which stems from plaque build-up that destroys brain cells.

Selenium is present in deep-water fish at five to 20 times the concentration of mercury. And when the two chemicals bind, methyl mercury appears to be neutralized.

Research last year by Nicholas Ralston at the University of North Dakota found that the most popular ocean fish eaten by Americans -- including salmon, pollock, tuna and flounders -- all contain much more selenium than mercury. Out of 1,100 foods analyzed for selenium by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ocean fish comprised 17 of the 25 best dietary selenium sources.

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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