Shared concerns over a troubled industry

One of the key topics of the Southeast conference this week in the city has been the state of the fishery, and like British Columbia’s coastal communities, cities, towns and villages up and down the Alaskan coast are facing many of the same struggles that have faced British Columbians for the last fifteen years.

A declining industry with a dwindling population base in many of their fishing dependant communities is setting the stage for some tough questions and required answers to come.

There were number of media reports on the fishery component of the conference, from the Daily News, Juneau Empire and KRBD Public radio.

We provide their reviews of the proceedings below.

Alaskans share fears over future of fishery
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Pages one and eleven

At a critical juncture in their fishing industry, Southeast Alaskan fishers are going to soon have to come to a decision - stay in or get out of the fishing industry.

Delegates at the Southeast Alaska Conference hosted in Prince Rupert this week heard yesterday that this year's harvested salmon stock is likely to be only 137 million fish, down 75 million from 2007.

Oceans Alaska's John Sund said the major problem facing the fishing industry is not a declining population in fish but in people.

"Most of the decline is due to migration based on a lack of viable jobs. (But) it can be turned around," said Sund.

"The challenge is, is the job long-term economically and environmentally sustainable?"
The expected resident population decline by 2030 is 17 per cent - with the Haines and Angoon area expected to lose 62 per cent of its population.

A combination of increasing energy costs for rural areas, federal litigation inhibiting fishing and decreasing availability of fishing stock is keeping fishers at home.

Even though an average salmon seiner's gross income was up to $162,453 in 2007 from $119,722 in 2006, most salmon seiners did not even bother to head out to water.

According to Alaska's Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, there were 415 permits in 2007 but only half were used to fish.

One of the ways that Sund said fishing could become a viable industry again is through shellfish.

"The conservative estimated growth is between US$50 million and US$100 million and through that we can create year round 400-to-600 jobs in coastal Alaska. To do that we want to establish a world class research and development facility in Ketchikan," said Sund.

Sund added that it was going to take a lot of work because they started with nothing and they were not where they would like to be.

One initiative in Southeast Alaska aiming to deal with the salmon stock problems the region is facing is the Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association (SSRAA).

SSRAA assistant general manager Mike Round talked at the conference about a McDowell Group economic study on impact of the SSRAA on pacific fisheries.

"One of the things we are asked to do by fisherman to justify our involvement in their salmon catch, they want to know how much fish they catch relates back to us," said Round.

In 2006 40 per cent of fish caught by fishing Southeast Alaskan vessels were fish that were attributed to the SSRAA's hatchery.

Round claimed that their SSRAA's work had produced US$6 million in labour income for 2006, $28 million since the

Round said 75 per cent of the hatchery fishes are expected to be caught by fishers which 83 per cent of the produced fish being Chum. The workers at the hatchery tag each fish, sometimes up to 10,000 per day, which is a labour intensive job and why Round joked "we don't have a lot of return workers."

State fishermen worried about future of industry

Juneau Empire

September 18, 2008

PRINCE RUPERT, British Columbia - Alaska residents attending a conference in Prince Rupert say they're concerned about the future of the fishing industry in their state.

Delegates at the Southeast Alaska Conference have heard that this year's harvested salmon stock is likely to be only 137 million fish, down 75 million from last year.

John Sund, spokesman for the OceansAlaska Marine Science Center, said the major problem facing the industry is not a declining population of fish but the lack of viable jobs for a fewer number of people living in Alaska.

A combination of increasing energy costs for rural areas, federal litigation inhibiting fishing and decreasing fish stocks is keeping fishermen at home.

According to the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, only half the 415 fishing permits issued in 2007 were used.

Sund said the development of a shellfish fishery is one of the ways the industry could become viable again and create up to 600 jobs a year.

"To do that we want to establish a world class research and development facility in Ketchikan," Sund said.

Dan Robinson, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Labor, told delegates that although their state's oil revenues have grown, oil is not a priority in Southeast Alaska, and that's affecting the region's economy.

B.C. salmon farm limits before provincial government
Ed Schoenfeld

KRBD FM Public Radio

PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. (2008-09-18)

British Columbia’s government is weighing a series of proposals to change the province’s salmon-farming industry. They range from advanced containment systems to an outright ban in areas near Alaska waters.

CoastAlaska’s Ed Schoenfeld is in Prince Rupert, B.C., this week for the Southeast Conference’s annual meeting.

He spoke with Rupert-based lawmaker Gary Coons, who served on B.C.’s Sustainable Aquaculture Committee, about its recommendations. Coons starts out by describing the committee’s work.