The U.S. dollar has dropped in value all year against a basket of other global currencies.
While that may sound like a bad thing, it's great news for Alaska seafood and anyone doing business overseas.
"It's a good thing for Alaska seafood producers because roughly two-thirds of the value of our seafood comes from export markets. So when our currency is less valuable, the prices are not as high for foreign buyers," said Andy Wink, senior fisheries economist with the McDowell Group.
It's a turnaround for a strong dollar that has for several years made Alaska seafood very pricey for prime customers of Japan and Europe. Now they will be inclined to buy more for less.
Americans aren't so lucky.
The weaker dollar makes the cost of imported goods more expensive here at home. About 85 percent of seafood Americans eat is imported.
The weakening dollar is due to uncertainties by global banks and investors about the Trump administration and its ability to accomplish promises of health care reform, raising interest rates, massive tax cuts and infrastructure spending. Many analysts also point to big question marks looming over Trump's trade policies.
"It's the way that investors perceive the health of the U.S. economy," Wink said.
Still, the dollar losing its mojo couldn't come at a better time for Alaska salmon sales.
"Where we are now," he added, "is a lot better than where we were at this time last year."
Cameras count fish
Cameras instead of human observers can now track what's coming and going over boat rails.
Starting next year, a new law allows for electronic monitoring systems on boats 40 feet to 60 feet long and boats harvesting Alaska halibut.
The voluntary electronic monitoring system option is open to longline vessels and boats fishing with pot gear, and the chance to get some extra bunk space back is a big relief for the fleet.
"Taking a human observer is simply not practical for those boats in terms of space or life raft capacity. I was really glad to see we finally got it on the books," said Dan Falvey, program director for the Sitka-based Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association.
Small-boat fishermen, who make up the majority of Alaska's fishing fleet, also had a hard time with escalating observer costs.
Boats aligned with the longline association and the Homer-based North Pacific Fisheries Association tested the EM program and protocols for several years as part of the "pre-implementation phase." The camera system proved it could track and identify more than 95 percent of species required for fishery management decisions.
More than 70 Alaska longliners and 18 pot boats are in the electronic monitoring pool, and Falvey said managers have approved expanding it to include 120 longline and 45 pot boats over the next few years.
"The (on-deck cameras) are just like any other piece of marine electronics on a boat," Falvey explained, adding that the system takes about a day and a half to install. "Skippers do a … test to make sure it's working properly, and if it passes the test, the vessel is free to go fishing. If the EM system leaves town working and they have problems on the water, they don't have to end their trip. That is a really important part of the program."
The cameras operate only when boats are fishing.
"The systems turn on when your hydraulics activate. The camera is rolling continuously while you're hauling back and for a couple hours after to watch the sorting on deck. Then they turn off until the next time you turn on your hydraulics," Falvey said.
When a boat returns from a fishing trip, the skipper pulls the hard drive and mails it to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission for review.
The electronic-monitoring systems, valued at up to $10,000, come at no cost to Alaska fishermen. Startup funds for the hardware and installation were provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the program is covered by fishermen's fees.
"In Alaska, the electronic monitoring system is provided to the boat as part of the observer program and paid for as part of the 1.25 percent fee we all pay," Falvey said.
Boats planning to participate in the program next year must register with the Observer Declare and Deploy System Sept. 1-Nov. 1.
Dungy dive
Southeast Alaska's biggest crab fishery has taken a dive this year with shortened summer and fall fisheries.
The summer fishery, which produces nearly three-quarters of the annual catch, landed just 1.3 million pounds of Dungeness, the lowest in more than 30 years. Managers cut the fishery short by three weeks in late July, the second early closure in 15 years.
The fall Dungeness season also will be clipped by a month. State managers announced that it will open as usual Oct. 1 but will close Oct. 31, instead of running through November.
Late molting is a likely cause of the lower catch numbers, said biologist Kelli Wood at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Petersburg. Large numbers of the crabs pulled up in the summer pots were soft shelled, meaning newly molted.
"It could be due to the fact that the crabs were just 'not on the bite.' After they molt they bury in the mud and don't come out and they are not hungry. If it was a later molt, they probably would be buried from the fishery," Wood told radio station KFSK in Petersburg.
Biologists are uncertain about the timing and frequency of the crab's molting habits because no surveys are done on the Dungeness stocks. Managers rely instead on information from commercial fisheries to track the crab.
In 2015, Southeast crabbers landed more than 5 million pounds of Dungeness, which averaged $2.95 a pound. The crab fishery was worth $15 million to the region.
Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based commercial fishing columnist. Contact her at msfish@alaskan.com.