Alaska fisheries gain ground: history shows impact of sea's bounty on state economy.

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This year's strong salmon harvest again highlights the value of seafood in the state's economy and, by association, the economic contribution of those who process the slippery catch.

Such was the salmon bounty this year that it warranted mention in the recap of Alaska's summer season by the economists at the state's Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

"Early numbers show that the 2007 salmon harvest of more than 200 million fish exceeded pre-season forecasts, and will be at least the fifth largest in history," wrote economist Dan Robinson in the October issue of Alaska Economic Trends. But, typical of the unpredictable ebb and flow of a volatile industry, the upshot season didn't exactly give processors forewarning to compensate.

"Those numbers don't immediately translate into a jump in seafood processing jobs, however, since the major hiring decisions are made earlier in the year and the processing plants have limited space for workers," Robinson warned.

CRITICAL ROLE

In spring 2006, the Research and Analysis Section of the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development published a report, "Employment in the Alaska Fisheries," that analyzed the economic health and contribution of the fish harvesting industry to Alaska and its communities.

"In 2004, the state's 6,742 fish harvesting jobs made up 2.9 percent of all private-sector jobs," economists Michael Patton and Dan Robinson reported.

"When the fishing industry is defined to include both harvesting and seafood processing, it accounts for 6.6 percent. That number is up slightly from 2002 when the fishing industry represented about 6.3 percent of the private sector," they stated.

Perhaps that minority percentage does not seem so big. But consider, in comparison, that oil and gas contributed 3.6 percent of private-sector jobs for the same period, and the construction industry 7.7 percent, according to the report. When focusing on where fishing remains king among local industries--Southeast, Gulf Coast and Southwest Alaska--the local impact is much stronger.

For the period studied, "fish harvesting and processing combine to make up 14 percent of Southeast Alaska's private-sector economy," the economists reported. "In the Gulf Coast region, about 18 percent of private-sector jobs are either in fish harvesting or processing. In Southwest ... the fishing industry accounts for just over half of all private-sector employment."

If that doesn't sound high enough yet, consider the trickle-down impact to the peripheral industries related to the fish harvesting and processing.

"It's no exaggeration to say that many Southwest Alaska communities--and others scattered throughout Southeast Alaska and the Gulf Coast region--would virtually disappear without fishing," according to Robinson and Patton.

The state acknowledges that critical role of seafood processing through efforts such as the informational "Seafood Jobs in Alaska" Web site provided by the Alaska Division of Employment Security. The Web site lists links to processing companies, describes the work and environment, and generally leads the potential worker through the application process.

BRIEF SUMMARY FOR THE UNINITIATED

As background for the uninitiated, Alaska itself offers a physical landscape and logistics infrastructure conducive to the full gamut of seafood processing setups from shore-based, floating processors to onboard, at-sea processing ships. Highlighting the impact of processors, the state's Office of Fisheries Development operates a Web page, "Alaska Processors," that provides a one-stop shop for processor information.

"Alaska's fishermen support a large processing industry with over 500 licensed processors. More than half are catcher-processor vessels that both harvest and process seafood," according to the site. "These range from huge factory trawlers in the Bering Sea to the small independent salmon fishermen that head, gut and freeze their catch onboard.

"Of the more than 200 shore-side processors, about 30 handle the majority of the harvest. Direct marketing fishermen, who operate outside the traditional harvester/processor relationship, compose a growing segment of the processing industry in Alaska."

For those workers who look to maximize their wage, the at-sea processors--operating in challenging waters such as Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea--call for employees to work, eat, sleep and essentially spend the season at sea. For the right type of worker, it can pose the best opportunity to save their wages, given that trips to town are few.

Shore-side processing plants are scattered across the state's coastline and rivers, with the greatest number in Southeast, Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, Kodiak, the Aleutian Islands and Bristol Bay, according to the state labor Web site. Such plants are often within or near to area communities and newcomers compete with locals for jobs.

Floating processors are often visible along the fringe of Alaska's rugged coastline, anchoring near shore using large ships and barges to receive harvested fish for processing.

FRUITFUL FLEET

The seafood industry in Alaska is served by legions of companies--based both inside and outside the state. In fact, the state "Seafood Jobs in Alaska" Web site lists links to an alphabet-sized list of 20-plus seafood companies, from Alaska General Seafoods to Westward Seafoods Inc.

On the large scale, companies such as conglomerate American Seafoods, harvest on Alaska waters. American Seafoods is the "largest harvester in the U.S. Bering Sea fishery with approximately 45 percent catcher-processor market share," according to the company, which encompasses catcher-processor and freezer-longliner vessels and land-based processing facilities. American Seafoods delivers its products to markets in North America, Asia and Europe.

Companies such as American Seafoods participate in the trade organization At-sea Processors Association (APA), which represents seven companies owning/operating 19 U.S.-flagged catcher/processor vessels. Other member companies, all Seattle-based, include: Alaska Ocean Seafood Inc., Arctic Storm Management Group LLC, Glacier Fish Co. LLC, Highland Light, Starbound LLC, and Trident Seafoods. The association participates in the Alaska pollock fishery and West Coast Pacific whiting fishery. The Pollock Conservation Cooperative, formed by members of APA eight years ago, received the first annual Stewardship and Sustainability Award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2006.

INNOVATIVE OFFSETS

In a field hampered by the volatility of a natural-resource product, innovation helps companies offset the unpredictability. Such stories are well received in an industry that sometimes has few rewards for a lifetime of hard work.

Consider how Cordova-based Copper River Seafoods evolved from an ingenious pairing of three fishermen-owned and -operated companies: Copper River Catch, Copper River Fine Seafoods, and Copper River Wild.

The three joined in 1996 to create the present-day Copper River Seafoods, with offices and processing facilities in both Cordova and Anchorage. Assisted by an innovative, state-of-the-art Web site, the company has expanded beyond salmon to other fish and value-added products.

"After harvesting/purchasing, all products are processed and delivered with Copper River Seafoods' standard, unwavering excellence and service," states the company Web site.

COLORFUL HISTORIES

For companies such as Alaska General Seafoods, with sites in Ketchikan, Naknek and Egegik, there is a strong history to build upon. According to the company's Web site, the Ketchikan site grew from a turn-of-last-century halibut fishery, and has witnessed the challenging growth of the fishing industry in Southeast. It was first owned by New England Fish Co. (NEFCO), which purchased the site in 1906 to serve its halibut fleet. Later, the facility grew to one of the largest salmon canneries in the state.

A fire in 1965 destroyed much of the NEFCO site and the company went bankrupt in 1980. Ten years later, the Canadian Fishing Co. (Canfisco) leased the site and operated it under Kanaway Seafoods, according to Alaska General Seafoods' Web site. The company later purchased the site and added new facilities. In 1994, the site operated under the name Alaska General Processors. Five years later, Kanaway Seafoods, Nelbro Packing Co. and Alaska General Processors were consolidated to form the current company, Alaska General Seafoods. This joining of companies also encompasses the Alaska General Seafoods site in Naknek, which can trace its history to 1890, and the site in Egegik, operated now as a fish camp, according to the company history.

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A similar historic route was taken by what is now Icicle Seafoods Inc., whose early days came in the winter of 1965, when a group of local fishermen and employees purchased Pacific American Fisheries cannery in Petersburg. From Petersburg Fisheries Inc. (PFI), the company eventually became Icicle Seafoods Inc.

"Innovative seafood solutions came early in Icicle's history, with the development of year-round processing facilities and eventually floating processors like the Arctic Star, Bering Star and Discovery Star," said a company history report. "These concepts were radical to Alaska's fishing industry in the early days, but enabled the company to provide stable employment, a variety of seafood products throughout the year and the opportunity to follow fishermen to remote coastal fishing locations where fish would not otherwise get harvested."