An updated Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) survey executed by the McDowell Group shows a healthy Alaskan seafood industry that has grown in value in almost all regions in the past five years.
The study – initially published in 2013 and updated in 2015, 2017, and this year – shows that the seafood industry in the state employs some 60,000 Alaskans and adds USD 2.1 billion (EUR 1.89 billion) worth of labor income, totals eclipsed only by Alaska’s oil and gas sector in terms of private-sector industries in the state.
The study provides an overview of the state’s seafood industry. In the 2017-2018 season, around 5.7 billion pounds of seafood worth USD 2 billion (EUR 1.80 billion) was harvested in the state and state processors turned it into seafood products worth USD 4.7 billion (EUR 4.24 billion).
The sheer scale of Alaska’s seafood harvest, which makes up 2 percent of global seafood production, is laid out as well with easily digestible anecdotes to grasp its enormity.
“The industry produces enough seafood to feed everybody in the world at least one serving of Alaska seafood annually,” the report said.
According to the report, the industry is growing steadily. Sixty-eight newly-built fishing boats were added to Alaska’s fleet every between 2013 and 2018, collectively accounting for an annual investment of over USD 50 million (EUR 45.10 million). Seafood processors also have continued to invest capital in Alaskan communities, with more than USD 100 million (EUR 90.21) being spent annually.
“The true value of Alaska seafood extends well beyond the price at the dock,” ASMI Executive Director Jeremy Woodrow said in a press release. “ASMI works closely with the Alaska seafood industry to increase the value of the state’s seafood resource to benefit Alaskans and Alaska’s communities.”
Photo courtesy of Photomatz/Shutterstock
