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State, federal fisheries legislation could land changes in Alaska: fishermen, lawmakers promote state, regional interests.

Article Excerpt
The years 2005 and 2006 are likely to be banner years for fisheries legislation--in Congress and in the Alaska Legislature. The long-term implications to Alaska will be substantial. The Alaska business community should pay special attention to these bills as they are sure to have economic impact on us all.

Why is fisheries legislation so important to us? Oil may be Alaska's primary source of state income, but the fishing industry is the largest single-industry employer in Alaska and the single most valuable exporter. In 2004, Alaska exported more than $1.7 billion in seafood products. Each year, almost 6 billion pounds of wild seafood are harvested, representing more than half the commercially harvested seafood in America, according to the state seafood industry in 2005.

NOT POCKET CHANGE

Each year the seafood industry pumps about $3 billion into Alaska's economy, state trade officials report. The name "Alaska Seafood" ranks second in name recognition among the top 500 U.S. restaurants, according to Kodiak-based Alaska fisheries columnist Laine Welch. Finally, and maybe the most important, fishing is the lifeblood of Alaska's coastal communities.

As good as the exportation of product might be, however, the net result to Alaska and Alaska fishermen may not be as good. The 2004 Alaska Economic Performance Report noted that the ex-vessel (price to fishermen) value of Alaska's 2004 harvest topped $1.1 billion, but that figure is still down from the 1993 high of almost $1.6 billion. And, according to a February 2004 report on Alaska's economy, only 38 percent of seafood harvesting dollars actually went to Alaska residents in 2000. In 2004, the overall number of average monthly jobs in the seafood harvesting sector had dropped from 7,980 in 2000 to 6,510, while seafood processing jobs increased, according to the Alaska Economic Performance Report 2004. This may be a reflection of the trend...