The fishing industry is one of the largest economic drivers in Alaska. It directly employs nearly 60,000 people and produces more than $5 billion in economic activity every year, according to the Resource Development Council for Alaska.
At Southeast Alaska’s annual economic conference that took place in Sitka in mid-September, industry leaders talked about the importance of modernizing the industry to ensure economic resilience and sustainability.
Southeast Alaska has thousands of resident fishermen who depend on access to salmon and other species — from trollers, gillnetters and seiners, to sport, charter and subsistence fishermen.
During a panel discussion at Southeast Conference entitled “Modernizing for a Vibrant Future,” Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), reminded listeners of the value of the seafood industry to the region.
“Because so much of what fishermen do happens on the periphery of most people’s world — out on the ocean, down on the waterfront — it often gets missed,” Behnken said. “So I just wanted to remind people, there’s over a billion annual economic impact from the seafood industry in Southeast Alaska. There’s 8,000 jobs generated by the seafood industry. Salmon alone: one in 10 people in Southeast are earning some role of their living from the salmon fisheries.”
Starting in 2023, Alaska seafood experienced an economic downturn due to geopolitics, inflation, softening demand and global competition, particularly from Russia. In response, the U.S. banned imports of seafood from Russia. Then earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that he said would restore American seafood competitiveness.
With the unpredictability of the industry, panelists at the conference said one way to weather the storm is modernization.
Julie Decker is president of the seafood trade group Pacific Seafood Processors Association, and facilitated the Southeast Conference fisheries discussion. She said modernization for the seafood industry is more than just about technology.
“It’s really about modernizing our fisheries management and our social structures and systems, marketing, community resilience, product development and policy,” she said. “So a lot of different areas are connected to modernization when we think about that term.”
Organizations like ALFA are approaching modernizing from all of those angles. When COVID hit in 2020, they started a seafood distribution program, first locally, then regionally, and then statewide, as they started hearing from people saying they needed seafood. They’re currently working on implementing artificial intelligence into electronic monitoring programs for sablefish and halibut fisheries to improve efficiency and cost. And they’re launching the first hybrid commercial fishing boats in the state starting this fall.
Doug Vincent-Lang is commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He said Alaska is recognized for science-based fisheries management. But, he said, there are a number of steps needed to update tools and regulatory systems to continue responsible management in a world that’s rapidly changing.
He said those steps include continuing fish surveys, developing fair and equitable seafood certification processes, and pushing for faster delivery of disaster funds for fishermen, among others.
“If we do all this stuff right, and we have a shared vision, and we implement it, our fishery is going to remain strong,” Vincent-Lang said. “And I can tell you, hopefully we’re all going to be sitting around the table eating miso black cod and having a dram of kelp vodka in the future.”
Behnken said 99% of the seafood that’s harvested in Alaska leaves Alaska. And there’s a lot of room to do better, she said. Strong partnerships and investing in infrastructure to make sure all Alaskans have access to Alaska seafood is vital.
“Our expectation is that as climate change continues to have an impact on our state and on our region, we’re going to see more of this where there are areas of scarcity, like along the Yukon, there are areas of abundance, like Bristol Bay and right now Southeast, but those could change over time,” Behnken said. “And we’re going to need to be nimble and able to respond to that.”
When asked what a vibrant future looks like, Kristy Clement, CEO of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, said in part, it’s about keeping Alaska’s fisheries strong and resilient.
“I think of thriving communities here in Southeast and across the state of Alaska, where our children’s children can make a healthy living from fisheries, seafood, or the broader blue economy,” she said.
And, she added, she would love other countries to be able to look to Alaska as an example of sustainability and stewardship.
You can listen to the full audio from the fisheries presentation here:
