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Fish Factor: Economic Value of Alaska's Seafood Industry By LAINE WELCH - Alaska’s fishing fleet of 9,400 vessels would span nearly 71 miles if lined up from bow to stern. 

And Alaska’s fishing industry catches and processes enough seafood each year to feed every person on the planet one serving; or a serving for each American every day for more than a month. 

Those are just a few of the fish facts highlighted in the annual “Economic value of Alaska’s seafood industry” report by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute compiled by the McDowell Group. 

The report breaks down the numbers of fishermen, processors, species caught, values and more by region in a colorful, user-friendly way that can provide every Alaskan with a better understanding of the seafood industry, especially policy makers. 

Here are some highlights: 

The Alaska fishing industry employs nearly 60,000 workers, of which nearly half are fishermen. 

Thirty -six percent of those fishermen live in south central Alaska towns such as Anchorage, Homer, Kenai and Cordova, more than any other region.

Most of Alaska’s fishing boats (2,688) are between 23 and 32 feet in length.

Southeast Alaska residents own the most fishing vessels at nearly 2,700 and they also own more fish quota shares than any other region.

Seafood processing is the largest manufacturing sector in Alaska, accounting for 72 percent of manufacturing employment. Processing includes 169 shore-based plants, 73 catcher-processors and more than a dozen floating processors.

At Kodiak, fishing accounts for nearly 40 percent of all jobs; 48 percent of all processing workers are year-round residents, the highest number in the state.   

Salmon accounts for the greatest economic impact in terms of jobs, value and income, with pollock a close second. Alaska pollock is the largest single species U.S. fishery by volume.

Seafood is by far Alaska’s top export - more than two billion pounds went to 105 countries in 2016, valued at over $3 billion. Exports account for about two-thirds of the sales value, with the rest going to U.S. markets. 

Globally, Alaska pollock provided 44 of world supply in 2016, Alaska salmon provided 14 percent, cod at 16 percent and Alaska crab at 29 percent. 

Since statehood in 1959, Alaska’s seafood industry has harvested nearly 170 billion pounds of seafood. The largest harvest ever was in 2015, topping six billion pounds.

Of the numerous fishery taxes and fees, 40 percent goes to state coffers and is distributed at the whim of the Alaska legislature ($58 million in 2016), and 31  percent goes to local governments where the fish was landed. - More....
Saturday PM - October 21, 2017

The historic compact with Alaska Tribes and Tribal Organizations will strengthen the state’s child welfare system and reduce over time the disproportionate number of Alaska Native children in foster care. The compact – signed at the 51st annual Alaska Federation of Natives Convention –  recognizes the authority of Alaska Tribes to provide child welfare programs and services on behalf of the Alaska Office of Children’s Services, providing greater local oversight of family services.

“Supporting Alaskan families is crucial to building a Safer Alaska,” Governor Walker said.

Walker said, “My administration is committed to reducing the disproportionate number of Alaska Native children in our foster care system. This compact is the first of its kind for both Alaska and the United States. I thank the Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Law, and Alaska Tribes and Tribal Organizations for crafting this unique new partnership. Every day, Alaska’s Tribes and Tribal Organizations provide essential services to children and families. This compact builds on that great experience, and incorporates their values, culture, and traditions into our child services system.”

Alaska Native children have been disproportionately represented in the state’s foster care system for decades. While only 19 percent of Alaska children are Native or American Indian, 55 percent of Alaska children in out-of-home foster care are of Native decent, and 61 percent of Alaska Native children in foster care will ultimately be placed in non-Native homes. - More...
Saturday PM - October 26, 2017

Alaska: Alaska Tribes Unite to Protect Their Indigenous Ways of Life from Mega Mines - The United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB) and Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) announced their intent this week to formalize their efforts to protect their indigenous ways of life and the watersheds that sustain them. Both tribal consortiums have been working to stop proposed mega mines in their respective regions: Pebble in Bristol Bay and multiple Transboundary mining threats in Southeast Alaska.

Kicking-off the Alaska Federation of Natives Conference week in Anchorage, the entities held a joint-reception on October 17. Together, the two groups include almost 30 federally recognized-Tribes spanning the Yup’ik, Dena’ina, Alutiiq, Tlingit, Ts’imshian, and Haida peoples who continue living their way of life in tune with natural cycles and keeping alive customary and traditional practices.

Designed to support each consortium’s mission to protect the indigenous way of life from the threat of mine development, the groups signed a formal Memorandum of Agreement, which marked a historical unification of Alaska Native tribes. The two entities released the following statements:

“Our Tribes uniting their efforts to protect our peoples’ way of life from the mega-mines threatening our continued existence as indigenous people is an exciting and historic development,” said Robert Heyano, President of UTBB. “Our Tribes are under siege, but the unification of our people is a powerful move to defeat these toxic projects.”

Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission Chairman Frederick Olsen, Jr. said: “Our groups share the value of ensuring the health of our homelands, and of the pristine lands and waters that support our traditional cultural practices and economy. With this agreement, we hope to amplify our voices throughout Alaska and across the Canadian border and together we can preserve our way of life for generations to come.”

United Tribes of Bristal Bay’s member tribes represent 80 percent of the population of the region in fourteen Yup’ik, Denai’na, and Alutiq indigenous communities in Bristol Bay. UTBB’s mission is to protect the lands and waters that support the traditional way of life of the indigenous people of Bristol Bay by advocating against unsustainable large-scale hard rock mines like the Pebble project. - More...
Saturday PM - October 21, 2017

Alaska Science: Wolves a defining part of Alaska landscape By NED ROZELL - The wolf tracks appeared as they always do, as a surprise.

On a day between fall and winter, with the leaves fallen and browning but the ground not yet hard, I was walking with my dog and an AM radio. We were descending a four-wheeler trail on a hillside 20 miles from the nearest town, Minto.

The dog was exercising its need to move after a summer of walking across the state. The radio was there so I could listen to my Yankees, playing in Houston, where there was not a half-inch of snow on the ground.

Before I saw the rounds of hand-size tracks, heading toward us from the basin of the Tolovana River, Cora had tipped me to sign of her ancestors’ passage.

There on the cold, wet ground was a shallow wound of scratch marks similar to the ones Cora likes to make. The earth showed the rake of four chisel points, as wide as my outspread fingers.

There, I imagined the broad, muscled shoulders of a creature three times the size of Cora, who weighs 38 pounds. My scrappy hiking partner must have pictured it too. She sniffed the torn forest floor with unusual, silent contemplation. - More...
Saturday PM - October 21, 2017

DAVE KIFFER: Laundry, Laundry, Laundry! By DAVE KIFFER - Recently, I went to a charity auction and clearly the most popular item was a Roomba.

Well, it wasn't an actual Roomba, which is a specific brand of robotic vacuum cleaner. This was a different brand, but since it promised to be "just as good" as a Roomba people were still interested in it. It went for $300 and I'm pretty sure that you could buy one on-line for half that, but that's the way that charity auctions work.

"$375 for a store bought lemon meringue pie? Count me in!!"

We always pay more because we are trying to help out our charity. Actually, some of us are also there because we are hoping against hope to snag a bargain that everyone else is too alcohol-addled to recognize.

Alcohol. of course, is always a big thing at these sorts of auctions, because nothing unloosens a wallet like 12 gallons of box wine!

And the more savvy of us figure that our fellow attendees will eventually get too drunk to make wise decisions. Unfortunately, those wise decisions rarely involve underbidding. But you can always hope.

Anyway, this particular "not-Roomba" was popular - and overpriced - because we are all sick to death of sweeping or vacuuming our floors.

Which is actually our great-great-great-great-great grandparents fault.

Which is actually our great-great-great-great-great grandparents fault.

Why, you ask?

Well, once upon a time everyone had dirt floors. And when everyone - including our great-great-great-great-great grandparents -  had dirt floors they didn't given a flying fickle finger about dirt on them because..... well, because EVERYONE HAD DIRT FLOORS.

They also had dirt streets too and the dust from them covered pretty much anything that wasn't in motion, so they really didn't care about that either.

But then - all of a sudden - they did.

Someone, clearly not one of MY great-great-great-great-great grandparents, got all uppity and hoity toity and built themselves a floor and pretty soon everyone else was building floors too.  Because that's the goal of every human life. To copy every other human life.  Otherwise you might miss out something. - More...
Saturday PM - October 21, 2017