Global salmon demand, fishing safety grants, plus a new director of commercial fisheries for Alaska

Heading into the 2019 salmon season, markets are looking good as global demand exceeds supply.

That’s due in part to constraints on the world’s biggest producers of farmed Atlantic salmon, Norway and Chile. While farmed production continues to tick upward, growth in both countries is limited as to the maximum amount of fish regulations permit them to have in the water.

Chile also is still recovering from a deadly virus that wiped out millions of fish in 2016, and Norway is battling pervasive sea lice issues.

“Now it appears the salmon farmers don’t have any rabbits left in the hat. They are still increasing production but not to the extent in percentage terms that it used to be,” said Andy Wink, a fisheries economist and director of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.

Couple that with expanding salmon demand and current market conditions create a larger niche for wild salmon, Wink said, not only in the U.S. but also in China.

“Demand for salmon in China is growing in a big way,” he said. “News reports say they expect farmed salmon consumption in China to go from 90,000 metric tons (198 million pounds) this past year to around 250,000 mt (550 million pounds) by 2025. There’s a lot of opportunity for all wild salmon.”

Market watchers are awaiting the last four months of sales data, but all salmon species have been selling well and holdover inventories are not expected heading into the coming season.

“We saw strong pricing on the wholesale side and volumes moved at a quick clip,” Wink said. “As far as sockeye goes, people I’ve been in touch with anecdotally say things are moving nicely even though prices are up.”

Another good sign is that the value of the dollar has held steady.

Demand continues to increase in the U.S., where Wink said more appreciation has grown for wild salmon in general. He pointed to Costco as a new market channel, which rolled out a national sockeye salmon program last year.

That really gave sockeyes a boost, and Wink said it was clearly shown in Bristol Bay’s branding promotion, which has grown from a small pilot program in a handful of stores in Boulder, Colorado, in 2016 to 1,000 stores across the country and growing.

Top fish spot

Sam Rabung has been named as the state’s director of commercial fisheries. He first joined the department as a fisheries technician in 1983, and since 2015 has been serving as chief for the division’s statewide aquaculture, planning and permitting section. He also has overseen hatchery operations around the state and is vice chair of the governor’s Mariculture Task Force. He will be based in Juneau.

Funds for saving lives

Saving lives and reducing injuries is the goal of fishing safety grants available to nonprofit groups, municipalities, academics and businesses involved in the fishing and maritime industries.

The Fishing Safety Research Grant Program was funded in 2010 as part of the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act, and the money is finally available.

“These are moneys that came to the Coast Guard first and we are partnering with them to administer these important safety training and research grants. This is the first time that these funds have been available,” said Jennifer Lincoln, co-director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Maritime Center for Safety and Health Studies.

The grants will provide up to 75 percent of the costs and range from $250,000-$650,000 per grant over two years.

Academics and nonprofits already involved in research and training are likely applicants, but communities and businesses also are encouraged.

“They could partner with a training organization to offer training for fishermen in their area,” Lincoln said. “There also are small business grants that include things like developing new technologies for industry.”

Different fishing fleets have different hazards and proposals can be targeted to what works best for a particular fishery, gear group or region.

“A group of fishermen might want to focus on fatigue-related issues,” Lincoln said. “Other ideas could include improving a piece of deck equipment that is particular to a fleet. Catcher processors or the head and gut fleet might want to focus on ergonomic issues and improved processes on their vessels.”

Lincoln said ideas continue to evolve on improving safety equipment such as life jackets, and she expects some grants will target vessel stability training. Another potential opportunity, she said, is exploring hearing protections for fishermen.

Feb. 21 is the deadline to apply in two categories: safety research and training. The “opportunity numbers” are RFA-OH-19-004 and RFA-OH-19-005.