The U.S. seafood industry's contribution to the nation's economy slipped in 2015, while Alaska's output increased slightly and dollar values held steady.
An eagerly anticipated annual report released by the fisheries branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) measures the economic impacts of U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries. It highlights values, jobs, and sales for 2015, along with a 10-year look at comparisons. A second report evaluates the status of U.S. fish stocks for 2016.
The Fisheries Economics Report shows that, including imports, U.S. commercial fishing and the seafood industry generated $144 billion in sales in 2015, a 6 percent decline from the previous year, and supported 1.2 million jobs, a 15 percent decline.
"However, it's important to consider these figures are still above the five-year average. In fact, 2015 represents the second highest level during that period," Alan Risenhoover, acting deputy assistant administrator for regulatory programs, said in a May 9 teleconference.
Alaska commercial fishermen landed more than 6 billion pounds of fish and shellfish in 2015, up 6 percent from the prior year — even though the value held steady at nearly $1.7 billion.
Fishing and processing in Alaska generated $4.4 billion in sales and 53,400 jobs, including 38,000 fishermen.
Other Alaska highlights:
*Pollock accounted for 54 percent of Alaska's harvest volume;
*Alaska crab was valued at $284 million, the highest level in 16 years;
*Halibut received the highest dock price at $4.85 per pound;
*Herring fetched the lowest price, averaging a penny a pound.
*Pollock ($509 million), salmon ($413 million), and crab ($284 million) dominated landings revenue.
Recreational fishing in Alaska put 5,407 people to work and saltwater anglers spent about $470 million for fishing trips and equipment.
Some 309,000 anglers fished in Alaska, an 8 percent increase from 2014.
Halibut (691,000 fish), silver salmon (578,000 fish), and various rockfish (475,000 fish) were the most caught species by Alaska anglers.
Saving fish stocks
Fishery managers have had some success protecting and rebuilding the 474 fish stocks they oversee. According to the Status of U.S. Fisheries report for 2016, more than 90 percent of the stocks are not subject to overfishing, which is defined as catch rates being too high.
Pribilof Islands' blue king crab is the only Alaska stock listed as overfished, which can be due to fishing or environmental changes such as warming waters and changing ocean chemistry.
"We see some stocks perhaps moving north to colder waters or offshore for deeper, cooler waters," Risenhoover explained.
Tanner anticipation
June surveys could set the stage for fishermen to once again drop pots for Tanner crab in Prince William Sound.
Earlier this year the state Board of Fisheries OK'd a new harvest strategy that sets crab abundance thresholds for opening a fishery, based on estimates due from trawl surveys next month.
Up to 14 million pounds of bairdi Tanners were caught in Prince William Sound during the early 1970s. Then, as with other parts of the Central Gulf, the numbers steadily dwindled. No fishery has opened in Prince William Sound since 1995. Crab numbers continue to be low, but a good pulse of recruits showed up in surveys and subsistence pots.
Should a Tanner fishery occur, the shell size of the legal male "keepers" has been reduced from 5.3 to 5 inches.
"We have a terminal molt condition situation in both Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound where male crabs are not reaching legal harvest size. They reach a maximum size and stop growing," said Jan Rumble, groundfish and shellfish manager at Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Homer.
Rumble cautioned that the summer survey to determine the fate of the Tanner crab fishery could be scuttled by state budget cuts.
Similarly, reopening the Tanner crab fishery in the Bering Sea is the focus of a special May meeting of the Alaska Board of Fisheries.
The fishery produced the Bering Sea's biggest crab catch in 2015 at 20 million pounds, but was abruptly closed last year when surveys showed few females. Bairdi Tanner crab, the larger cousin of snow crab, is the only fishery that uses a female-only indicator for stock abundance. The closure pulled the plug on expanding purchases by retailers Joe's Crab Shack and Red Lobster.
"It's a challenge when you have a fishery like this where the survey is done with a trawl and it's a pot fishery. It's difficult to know what the female population is because the gear is rigged to select for larger male crab on the bottom," said Tyson Fick, director of the trade group Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. "We want to think about alternatives to a single open/close threshold . . . where it went from almost 20 million pounds to zero."
The crab meeting is set for May 17-18 at the Anchorage Sheraton.
Seafood delivered
Halibut and spot shrimp are additions to the Catch of the Season program by the Hoonah Tribe's Dear North Salmon Company, which has had success with its salmon jerky bites.
The program is part of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council's ongoing and expanding "Caught for Alaskans by Alaskans" campaign that delivers boxes of fresh and frozen seafood to customers in Anchorage, Homer, Fairbanks and most recently, Seward.
"It lets buyers know that their dollars are supporting community-based fishermen, and they learn the who, what, where, when, and why of specific seafood," said David Fleming, the council's seafood sales manager in Anchorage.
Details are at seafood@akmarine.org.
High-ranking fish job
Chris Oliver, longtime executive director of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has accepted the job of assistant administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Oliver's tentative start date is June 19, assuming the appointment is approved by the White House.