Fishermen approach the Cordova boat harbor after the first commercial opener of the season on Monday, May 17, 2021. economic report by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute
Overall, the industry includes 8,900 fishing vessels with 5,417 measuring in the 23-49 foot range. Each is a small business and if all the vessels were lined up bow to stern, they would stretch nearly 63 miles! The fishing boats harvested nearly 5.7 billion pounds of seafood in 2019, worth $2 billion.
Alaska seafood is sold in 100 countries around the world and is the state’s top export by far, topping $3 billion annually. In 2019, Alaska salmon accounted for 36% of the industry’s annual value and 15% of the volume. Pollock accounted for 24% of the value and 59% of volume. COVID-driven impacts in 2020 caused widespread revenue declines across all species, with participation by fishermen dropping 12% for permit holders and 28% for crew , and payments to fishermen dropped 27%. Peak processing employment declined 21%.
The task force includes a mix of state officials, fishery managers, commercial and sportfishermen and others. Their mission through Nov. 30 is to “study what impacts bycatch has on Alaska fisheries” and “make valuable recommendations to help better understand and address the issues of bycatch.”