Seafood lovers, ready for salmon ice cream, Jjamppong and bottarga?

Candied salmon ice cream, poke snack kits, salmon bisque baby food, fish skin tote bags and pet oils — these are among the more than 20 new items on tap this week at the industry's most popular annual seafood soiree — the Alaska Symphony of Seafood, where the public is invited to taste and vote on its favorites.

Now in its 24th year, the event attracts commercially ready entries from major companies to mom-and-pop firms. Bambino's Baby Food of Anchorage, for example, won the grand prize for its Hali Halibut last winter and is entered once again.

[Details of Bambino's Baby Food win]

The goal of Symphony of Seafood is to encourage the development of new Alaska seafood products and broaden markets. The forward-thinking Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation has hosted the event since 1993.

"How can you beat ice cream," said Julie Decker, executive director of the foundation, referring to an entry by retail store Coppa of Juneau, which is known for using herring roe wasabi and black cod in ice cream.

Entries show even more of a foreign flare this year with Jjamppong, a Korean seafood noodle soup by Orca Bay, and Triad Fisheries' bottarga, a dried, shaved topping made from salmon roe.

The event has grown beyond edibles and several years ago introduced a Beyond the Plate category to bolster more head-to-tail fish use and reduce waste. Last year's big winner was Quyung-lii Anti-Aging Skin Serum by ArxOtica of Bethel.

Entries this year include a salmon skin tote by the Salmon Sisters of Homer, a water clarifier derived from crab shells by Tidal Vision of Juneau, and salmon pet oils by Trident Seafoods.

[Profile of Homer's Salmon Sisters]

All products are judged privately in Seattle, where seafood lovers also will cast ballots for their favorites Jan. 25. Winners will be announced at a Juneau legislative reception and public judging Feb. 22. Top placers receive a trip to showcase their products at Boston's Seafood Expo North America in March.

Tanners tank

All hopes for a Bering Sea Tanner crab fishery this season were dashed earlier this month by a split vote of the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

Crab harvests are based on results of annual surveys and for Tanners, the numbers are driven by the abundance of female crabs. The survey indicated there were not enough females to risk even a reduced opener in a fishery that produced 20 million pounds last year.

Based on their pot pulls, crabbers believe lots of Tanners are out there — but missed by the trawl survey done jointly each summer by state and federal biologists.

"There's something of a disconnect between the scientists and fishermen," said Tyson Fick, spokesman for the trade group Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. "We thought there were enough crab to warrant a small harvest of 4 million pounds, which would be about 4 percent of the mature male biomass. Others thought a more precautionary approach was warranted."

It adds up to a $50 million loss to the crab fleet. An even bigger hit stems from the marketplace, where Tanners are becoming wildly popular. Tanners are double the size of their snow crab cousins, weighing 2 to 4 pounds. The crabbers and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute have worked hard to build a Tanner brand when the fishery was reopened three years ago.

"Red Lobster, Joe's Crab Shack and Publix Markets — all these domestic customers really appreciated what they are getting. It's going to be an uphill road when we come back into the market again," Fick said.

Pink relief, possibly

Alaska's 2016 pink salmon fishery was officially declared a failure last week by the U.S. Commerce Secretary, setting the stage for fishermen and other stakeholders in three regions to seek disaster assistance from the federal government.

The pink fishery last summer was the worst in more than 40 years. Commercial fishermen from Kodiak, Prince William Sound and Lower Cook Inlet are eligible to apply for monetary assistance — if money is appropriated by Congress.

The push for relief was spearheaded by Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, who pointed out the pink salmon bust is not only felt by fishermen.

"It trickles down to processors and their workforce, transportation and most businesses throughout the communities," Stutes said.

Kodiak's pink salmon catch barely broke 3 million, far below a projected 16 million fish. In the Sound, a project catch of 40 million came in at just 13 million. In the lower Inlet, a pink take of just 97,000 fish was about 13 percent of the forecast.

The pink disaster declaration won't set a precedent, though. Alaska received nearly $8 million in federal money in 2012 after king salmon runs on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers as well as several waterways in the Inlet region.

It will now be a waiting game to see whether disaster funds get greenlit by Congress. Stutes said her office will be tracking the time frames and how people can apply for monetary relief.

"This is not going to be a blanket money grab for anybody that fished pinks," she said. "If you're in the disaster area and the large portion of your income was based on pink salmon, then I believe you will be eligible."

Pink salmon is Alaska's largest salmon fishery by volume, and harvests can top 200 million fish. All together, nine salmon and crab fisheries received disaster declarations in Alaska, California and Washington, including West Coast tribal salmon fisheries.

Fish give back

American Seafoods company is again accepting applications for its Alaska community grant program. Some $38,000 will be awarded to community projects addressing such issues as hunger, housing, safety, education, research, natural resources and cultural activities. Most of the awards range from $500 to $3,000.

Deadline to apply is Feb. 6; grant recipients will be selected by a community advisory board on Feb. 15. Call Kim Lynch at 206-256-2659.