November 07, 2013
Thursday AM

(SitNews) - For the 16th year in a row, Dutch Harbor ranked as the nation’s top fishing port with 752 million pounds crossing those docks last year, valued at $214 million.

The number two port for landings again was Empire-Venice, Louisiana.   The “Aleutian Islands” jumped to third place with 456 million pounds led by deliveries to Akutan, and bumped Kodiak to number four with 393 million pounds landed in 2012.   In all, 13 Alaska ports made the Top 50 list for poundage, according to the annual Fisheries of the United States report by NOAA Fisheries.  

For value of the catch, New Bedford, Mass. retained the lead for the 13th consecutive year at $411 million, thanks to pricey scallops; Dutch Harbor ranked second, followed by Kodiak at $170 million and the Aleutian Islands with a dockside value of $119 million.

In all, U.S. seafood landings totaled 9.6 billion pounds last year valued at $5.1 billion, down 2.2 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, from 2011.

Other highlights:

• Alaska topped all other states for total landings at 5.3 billion pounds and for overall value at $1.7 billion.
• Alaska provided 55.5 percent of all seafood landed in the U.S. last year.
• The top five fish species landed by volume were pollock, menhaden, cod, flatfish and salmon.
• For value, the “crabs” category ranked first followed by scallops, shrimp, salmon and lobster.  Pollock and cod were 6th and 7th for value.    
• Shellfish prices dropped by 3 percent while prices for industrial products, such as oils and feeds increased by 14 percent.
• Dockside prices increased for 18 out of 32 species groups being tracked and  decreased for 14 species. The skipjack tuna  price index had the largest gain, up 112 percent, while sockeye salmon showed the largest decrease at 17 percent.
• The average dock price paid to fishermen in 2012 was 53 cents per pound compared to 54 cents the previous year.
• US consumers spent about $82.6 billion for fishery products in 2012.
• The US fishing industry contributed $42 billion to the GNP.
• Americans ate less seafood last year at 14.4 pounds per person, compared to 15 pounds in 2011. The decrease resulted primarily from a drop in the domestic landings utilized for food, the report said.

Other Alaska ports on the Top 50 list include the Alaska Peninsula at #9, Naknek at #14, Cordova at #15, Ketchikan at #18, Sitka at #20, Bristol Bay at #22, Seward at #23, Petersburg at #24, Kenai at #31and Juneau at #42 for seafood landings in 2012.

Feedback from fishermen wanted

Input by mariners is wanted on plans being considered for a bigger boat haul out and other waterfront development at Sitka’s Sawmill Cove Industrial Park.

“We’ve been hearing from the community for years that they would like to see our haul out capabilities expanded and our marine services expanded bit,” said Garry White, executive director of the Sitka Economic Development Association. 

“Currently, the largest haul out we have in town is an 88 ton lift, and we are hearing from a lot of the fleet, especially the tender boats and some of the larger vessels, that they can’t be hauled out here in town,” White added. “The fleet has to go elsewhere to get serviced, and they would like to stay here in town to get that done.”

  To get feedback from boat owners, the Association has launched a Sitka Marine Industry Development Survey. 

“The first thing we’re interested in is what size haul out should we put in to meet the fleet’s needs, and what other services are needed, such as sand blasting, bottom painting and diesel work,” White explained. “A lot of those industries exist here in town, but we are trying to figure out how we can broaden things to meet all our needs at the same time.”

Sitka's commercial fishing fleet is the largest in Southeast Alaska at  631 registered vessels.  The City and Borough of Sitka also operate the largest harbor system in Alaska with five moorage basins and more than 1,300 permanent slips, plus transient moorage space. 

“We’re on the outside of Southeast Alaska facing the Pacific Ocean,” White said. “There is a lot of traffic that comes through Sitka on the way to other fisheries, or they come here for the fisheries. So we want to hear from those boats in Puget Sound and other parts of Southeast Alaska that may want to pop in here and get some work done  or if they have some emergency. We want to hear what they think should happen in Sitka.”

Find the survey at www.sitka.net or  www.sawmillcove.com. Deadline is November 30; White said a report will follow early next year.

Fish watch

Alaska’s biggest fishery, Bering Sea pollock, closed for the year on Nov. 1.  Roughly three billion pounds will come out of that fishery.  The Gulf of Alaska pollock fishery also ended for trawlers the same day, as did Pacific cod.  Fishing for cod continues for other gear types in both the Gulf and Bering Sea; pot and jig fishing could last all year.

Crabbers at Bristol Bay had taken over half of their 8.6 million pound red king crab catch with about 3.7 million pounds left to go.

Halibut longliners had taken 93 percent of their nearly 22 million pound catch limit, with about 1.4 million pounds remaining. For sablefish, about three million pounds remain for harvest in the 28 million pound quota.  Both of those fisheries close November 7.  Homer will regain the title of the number one halibut port, topping Kodiak by about one million pounds in landings this year.  Seward is the top port by far for sablefish landings.

In Southeast Alaska the pot shrimp fisheries were wrapped up in most districts with a total catch of half a million pounds. Demersal shelf rockfish opens November 8 with a 35 ton harvest region-wide. Divers continued combing the deep for sea cucumbers and giant geoduck clams.

Hat tip to highliners

Two Alaskans were selected as National Fisherman’s Highliners of the Year -- Robert Heyano of Dillingham is president of the fishermen funded/directed Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association and skipper of the 32-foot drift gillnetter Lady Mindy.   Jerry McCune of Cordova is president of the United Fishermen of Alaska and the Cordova District Fishermen United, longtime industry lobbyist and skipper of the 33-foot drift gillnetter Wudahad.

Robert Hezel of Clinton, WA also was selected. He is skipper of the Fishermen's Finest 185-foot Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska trawler, U.S. Intrepid.

The Highliner Awards began in 1975 in partnership with Furuno to honor fishermen who uphold a standard of excellence in their fishing operations and in their advocacy on behalf of the industry

This year marks the 21st year for this weekly column that focuses on Alaska’s seafood industry. It began in 1991 in the Anchorage Daily News, and now appears in over 20 newspapers and web sites. A daily spin off – Fish Radio – airs weekdays on 30 radio stations in Alaska. My goal is to make all people aware of the economic, social and cultural importance of Alaska’s fishing industry to our state, the nation and the world. 

Laine Welch ©2013

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