Brannon Finney recommends five action steps to reverse the troubling trends and restore access to rural fishing. The Young Fishermen's Summit was organized to promote the rebirth of fishing culture in Alaska. This report outlines these five steps and more. To understand the full impact of these recommendations, read on.
The number of vessels in Alaska's fishing fleet is staggering. If each of them were built to the scale of the state's fishing fleet, it would span 71 miles from bow to stern. Yet, despite the size of the state's fleet, Alaskans catch enough seafood to feed every person on the planet for a month. Last week, the copper river salmon season opened, and only thirty-three thousand chinook and 400 chum salmon were caught. The fishing fleet in Alaska has to carry a quarantine flag this season. This flag is called a Lima flag and is required to carry onboard vessels when crew members from outside the state come on board. It's yellow and black and warns of a 14-day quarantine period. If you're worried about bycatch on your boat, you can always get one from the local fishing council. These groups are urging fishermen to adopt these measures. Brannon Finney thinks that there are several factors that determine the quality and speed of fishing in an area. The number of boats a fishing fleet has can affect the quality and speed of fisheries. For example, a high number of boats in the Kodiak fishing fleet may have more quality catch than a lower number of boats in another area. The number of boats also depends on the type of weather and the number of fishermen on board. In Kodiak, for instance, 85 boats signed up for the fishery, while only 14 of these vessels will work out in Chignik. In a recent study, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute revealed that the industry in the state supports 36,800 jobs and generates $5.2 billion dollars of economic activity annually. That is more than enough to make the state the second largest seafood producer in the country after oil and gas. Furthermore, seafood processing companies were investing $100 million per year in Alaska before the pandemic hit the state. These investments in infrastructure are often expensive and require sophisticated technologies. Bristol Bay's commercial fishery supports the growth of the state's salmon and other seafood industries. It accounts for more than half of the world's sockeye salmon production and is home to the largest red run in the world. This region's fishing industry earned $163 million in taxes in FY 2019. In Alaska's fishing industry, quota cuts are affecting the bottom line for fishermen whose livelihoods depend on crabbing. Since the quota cuts began in January, fishermen must now decide whether or not to go to the Bering Sea to fish for red king crab and other species. Meanwhile, 44 percent of drift netters don't chill their catch, which has a significant impact on the price of Alaskan fish. While the closure of the EEZ has affected many commercial fishermen in the state, it has created an opportunity for new companies to enter the industry. Rogue Wave Seafoods was started last November and plans to operate out of the same facilities as the other companies in the region, including Copper River Seafoods and Snug Harbor. Its founder, Matt Haakenson, previously worked for Pacific Star Seafoods in Kenai and Inlet Fish, both of which closed the fishery mid-season last year. The company owns the facilities and brought him on board for his local expertise. The Cook Inlet Coalition, a Homer activist group, and several commercial fishermen signed a letter in February that urges the state to oppose the Kachemak Bay State Park. The letter cites the Tutka Bay Lagoon Hattery, which was built in 1975 to boost the number of pink salmon in the state. Despite the lower price per pound, the hatchery earns more money through cost recovery harvesting. Brannon Finney feels that the herring fishery is a lucrative one for Alaska fishermen. In 2017, a record-breaking 45164 tons of the fish were harvested. The total yearly catch was 130 million pounds and was up 32% from the previous year. The next major fishery in the state, the Togiak sac roe herring fishery, usually begins in late March, typically at Klawok and Craig.
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