Brightening outlook for Alaska salmon buoys commercial fishermen

A bright outlook for Alaska's upcoming salmon season just got brighter.

Markets are looking good, the statewide salmon catch forecast of 204 million is up by a million fish, and the world's biggest sockeye salmon fishery at Bristol Bay is breaking records for chilling its fish.

Last year nearly 40 percent of Alaska's total salmon value came from Bristol Bay fish. When Bristol Bay fish fetch a better paycheck due to chilling, it's felt throughout the industry.

"The size of the bay harvest has a big impact on salmon prices elsewhere. Typically, it's 35 to 40 percent of the global sockeye supply," said Andy Wink, senior seafood analyst with the McDowell Group.

"When the base price in 2015 was 50 cents at Bristol Bay and they had a large harvest, sockeye prices in other areas fell and we also saw coho prices come way down. It's a market-moving fishery and that is why it affects so many other Alaska fishermen."

The 2016 Bristol Bay harvest of 37 million sockeye salmon from the region's five river systems was the second largest in 20 years, and both drift and setnet harvesters chilled the most raw product in the fishery's history.

[What made 2016 harvest so big?]

That's according to a processor survey done annually by Northern Economics, Inc. of Anchorage by contract with the driftnet fishermen-funded-and-operated Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.

"This is huge for the retail potential of Bristol Bay," said Rebecca Martello, the association's executive director. "The fleet is making great strides to ensure Bristol Bay is a quality product and this definitely ties into all aspects of marketing and making Bristol Bay the premium brand we know it to be."

The 2016 survey captured raw product data, fleet information, ice production volumes, chilling methods, and opinions of trends and priorities.

Some highlights:

*Responses by the region's 12 major processors showed that 71 percent of the Bristol Bay driftnet fleet's 1,390 participants chilled their catches. The previous high, in 2012, was 59 percent.

*Of the 212 million pounds of Bristol Bay salmon that crossed the docks, chilled fish topped 137 million pounds. Drifters delivered a record 123 million pounds of chilled sockeye, a 40 percent increase from the previous year.

*The amount of salmon chilled by 858 setnetters decreased by 3 percent.

*The number of "dry (unchilled) deliveries" dropped below 22 percent, down nearly half from 2009.

Last year saw a big shift away from putting reds into cans, focusing instead on more-valuable products: fresh and frozen fillets and headed-and-gutted (H&G) fish.

Canned salmon dropped by nearly 17 million pounds (just 27 percent of the total, compared to more than 70 percent two decades ago), while H&G fresh production increased eight-fold to nearly 14 million pounds. Salmon fillet production approached 50 million pounds, a 50 percent increase.
Bristol Bay fishermen averaged 76 cents a pound for their sockeye salmon last year. The average chilling bonus has steadily increased since the processor survey began in 2008, from 11 cents a pound to 16 cents last year.

At an average weight of 5.4 pounds, that makes each sockeye salmon caught worth more than $4.75 to fishermen.

The sockeye salmon harvest at Bristol Bay for 2017 is projected at 27.5 million fish, which would be down 26 percent from last year.

Swap meat for seafood

A new marketing angle called Swap Meat is designed to convince more Americans to eat wild Alaska seafood.

"Alaska seafood is incredibly versatile, and Swap Meat is a way to use it in recipes where you traditionally use a different protein like pork or chicken or beef," said Jeremy Woodrow, communications director for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute in Juneau.

Swap Meat aims to make seafood more palatable to consumers. Studies show that many are hesitant to try fish or shellfish because they don't know what to buy or how to prepare it.

The Swap Meat promotion offers recipes aimed at busy families that can go from stove to table in less than 30 minutes.

"Halibut corn dogs, quesadillas, sliders, soups, fajitas, cod parmesan, crab mac and cheese — there are so many ways to substitute Alaska seafood," Woodrow said.

Swap Meat is being widely promoted on social media and by direct contact with retailers and chefs.

"The USDA recommends that Americans eat a minimum of 26 pounds of seafood a year. That's only 8 ounces a week. Most Americans are averaging around 15 pounds a year," Woodrow said.

More of that consumption is salmon.

"In the last year or so, for the first time, salmon surpassed tuna as the No. 1 fish consumed by Americans," Woodrow said, noting that it's still second behind shrimp among all seafood.

Young for young fishermen

Alaska Congressman Don Young, along with Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), introduced a bill last week to help assure a future for up-and-coming U.S. fishermen. Called the Young Fishermen's Development Act, the legislation would create the first-ever national grant program through the Department of Commerce to support training, education and workplace development for the nation's next generation of commercial fishermen.

[Alaska's facing a graying of the fleet, but some young fishermen are bucking the trend]

In a press release, Young called the program "only one effort to preserve fishing heritage and encourage new participation in the industry.

"Young fishermen are facing bigger challenges than ever — new barriers to entry, limited training opportunities and a lack of support," he said.

The program, modeled on the successful Department of Agriculture's Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program, would authorize up to $200,000 in competitive grants through NOAA's Sea Grant Program to support training in  seamanship, navigation, electronics, vessel repair and maintenance, gear engineering and technology, marketing, finances, business practices and more.

"Congressman Young understands the challenges young fishermen face, and we thank him for his strong leadership," said Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association. "Empowering the next generation of young fishermen is essential to economic opportunity, food security and our way of life."

Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based commercial fishing columnist. Contact her at msfish@alaskan.com.