ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The fishing industry in Alaska has been hit hard in recent years, but a recent economic report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries agency (NOAA Fisheries), shows that Alaska has lost almost 7,000 jobs in the fishing industry.

The report comes after concerned seafood industry members saw a downturn in profit in 2023 and requested NOAA Fisheries to conduct an independent analysis.

NOAA Fisheries said they compiled data from fishing boats, processors, and international trade databases for both state and federal fisheries in Alaska.

The report estimates the Alaska seafood industry suffered a $1.8 billion loss between 2022 and 2023, and the industry saw a 50% decline in profitability between 2021 and 2023.

“The Alaska seafood industry is a major contributor to the U.S. seafood sector,” Robert Foy, director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, said in a press release. “The social and economic ramifications of Alaska’s losses have reverberated down the West Coast and across the country.”

The key findings of the report show that starting in 2022, there were higher costs associated with increased wages, higher energy prices, and higher interest rates. This was combined with decreased revenue in 2023 due to declining prices for every major species group.

Other major impacts on the fishing industry included post-COVID retail strategies to keep retail seafood prices higher while lowering the supply, international competition from Russia, and climate change.

The two Southwest Alaska regions experiencing the largest impacts are the Aleutians East Borough and Bristol Bay Borough regions. The Aleutians East Borough lost 6,036 jobs and had a $573 million loss. The Bristol Bay Borough lost 9,713 jobs and had a $404 million loss.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development notes that around 80% of these workers are nonresidents. Since the impacts on job losses in the NOAA report include both residents and non-residents, the job losses for only the residents of these areas will likely be smaller, according to NOAA.

The total employment in fishing and fishing-related jobs in Alaska declined by 6,952 jobs. That makes up 18% of all fishing and fishing-related jobs that were lost nationwide.

Recent Sales and Closures

In 2024, multiple processors announced seasonal or permanent plant closures across Alaskan fishing communities, including the sale of four of Trident Seafood’s largest processing facilities (Ketchikan, Petersburg, False Pass and Kodiak).

The announcement of the sale of the Kodiak plant happened last week, with transactions being finalized in November.

According to the press release, there are no plans to cut jobs now, with both parties “united in their commitment to providing job security and ensuring continuity of operations.”

Other major seafood processing companies like Peter Pan and OBI Seafoods have also announced closures this year. Peter Pan closed its operations indefinitely, with multiple sales and leases of its facilities and the closure of its processor in King Cove.

The report states that this closure left an estimated loss of 70% of King Cove’s revenues due to multiple community projects that relied on the processing facility to purchase hydroelectric power, water, and solid waste disposal. OBI Seafoods closed its plant in Larsen Bay.

The red king crab fishery and the snow crab fishery opened last week, which was big news after the snow crab fishery was closed for two years.

That fishery closure led to the shutdown of the only processing plant in St. Paul, and the NOAA report states this has been particularly devastating for the Bering Sea community.

“It has lost 60% of its municipal tax revenue and community budget as a result of the closure and the community declared a cultural, economic, and social emergency,” the report cited.

State Taskforce discusses possible solutions

The new Alaska Seafood Industry Task Force met last Tuesday and Wednesday where NOAA gave a presentation of their report. Some of the solutions brought up by task force members in their meeting on Tuesday included getting more funding for marketing, better training programs to match what the industry needs, and amending the fisheries product development tax credit. They also discussed offering low-interest loans for smaller businesses and insurance to help manage these financial challenges.

The task force plans to hold the next round of meetings in Anchorage on Nov. 13 and 14, with a possible third day on Nov. 15. The task force hopes to hear from CDQs, coastal community leaders, and Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, and have a more in-depth discussion surrounding financing and insurance for the industry.

The task force plans to share its findings and suggestions with the Alaska Legislature in January 2025.

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