Report outlines options to boost ailing fishing industry
Expanding financing and tax credits, boosting university research on processing technology, and making a federal case for fishermen to be put on the same page with farmers are some of the recommendations in the Joint Legislative Task Force Evaluating Alaska’s Seafood Industry’s final report.
The joint task force, chaired by Kodiak Senate President Gary Stevens, held its final meeting last week. In his closing message, Stevens held out hope for industry members — fishermen, processors and fishing communities — that the legislature will act this session to try and make things better for the state’s iconic industry.
“All of us Alaskans are rightly proud of the wild Alaska seafood products we produce. The industry will continue, despite the fact it is facing strong headwinds.
“The Seafood Industry Task Force is committed to providing as many options as possible to the Alaska State Legislature in the hope that a crisis may be ameliorated as much as possible, and that the seafood industry will once again thrive, providing jobs, careers, and opportunities to a healthy economy as well as high-quality seafood products to American and foreign markets,” Stevens wrote in the final report.
The eight-member panel assessed the potential for change in comments last Wednesday. Sitka Republican Sen. Burt Stedman called the current industry downturn “the most significant this century.”
“It’s pretty clear that we’re price takers, we’re high-cost producers, and therefore we need to enhance the value of our product. Much like our forefathers did in building hydro to make ice, we need to take the next step for the next generation, so they can continue to stay in business.
“There’s about 44,000 Alaskans that are affected by this downturn, and it’s probably the most significant downturn in the fisheries in the century. How it goes unnoticed in the Governor’s speech is beyond me. (Governor Mike Dunleavy made no mention of the fishing industry in his annual “State of the State” message Monday.) So I look forward to moving us forward, and hopefully we have some recommendations that we’ll see to completion.”
One recommendation is to expand the Alaska Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank or commercial fisheries revolving loan programs to help fishermen make prior loan payments when faced with unexpected market or harvest events out of their control.
Homer Republican Representative Sarah Vance said relief is needed now.
“I’ve been hearing about people getting foreclosed on their homes in my community because of the poor pink harvest year. We’ve had several years of really low fish prices, and when the harvest also is low they aren’t able to make those payments. We need to find some way to create working capital to help float fishermen through the year to get to the next season,” Vance said.
Vance backed another task force recommendation, that the state lobby federal lawmakers harder to list fishermen as equals to farmers in the U.S. Farm Bill.
“I think this is going to be something that would help on an immediate level and if they’re seen as food producers I think that will kind of shift the way that people that the banks look at our fishermen and I’m hoping that we can take action on this session,” Vance said.
A related recommendation is to include a fisheries seat on Gov. Dunleavy’s nascent Alaska Agriculture Department.
Stevens backed another recommendation, that the state create a new insurance pool to help lower costs. Task Force Staffer Tim Lampkins said that’s unlikely to happen this legislative session, but it’s time to get the ball rolling.
“We can begin the work on that one this session. Absolutely that’s a very important point, the fact that many fishermen are stressed by having to pay for insurance that’s gone up. Folks have said they may opt out of insurance, which is a recipe for disaster,” Stevens said.
Tax credits for processors who find new ways to utilize fish waste, and help for training workers to operate new equipment are also on the table.
“We realize that automation technologies are changing. It’s amazing to go through some of the plants now and how different they are from 20 or 40 or 50 years ago, and we have to have trained personnel, so we need to look at that,” Stevens said.
Members spoke about the job ahead to deal with resource scarcity, high processing costs, competition on world markets and aging infrastructure before voting unanimously to endorse the package.
“This gives the public a very pointed direction of what we’re looking at. And now is the time that we have to roll up our sleeves and develop good policy and make sure that we are not creating loopholes and missing some things along the way.
“I appreciate the engagement from the harvesters and the processors that brought their ideas and their concerns to us, sharing the struggle of boots on the ground and the impact that it’s making on the communities and their businesses.
“This didn’t come from us. This didn’t come from bureaucrats. You brought these issues to us and said ‘this is where we need help.’ And so I think the community itself and the fleet can appreciate that their voices are being heard in this report and then the legislation forthcoming,” said Vance.
Juneau Democratic Sen. Jesse Kiehl said the work is just now starting.
“This work is not done, it will be long term. But the urgency is now. There is absolutely a need to make sure we don’t lose any more markets, any more processors, any more permits, any more fishing families in Alaska,” Kiehl said.
Will we succeed in getting those all to zero? We might not. But our opportunity to mitigate the harm comes in strong and rapid response, and we need to jump on it. So I’m glad of the draft report, I’m glad of our timing, and I’m ready to go on to work.”
Kodiak Republican Representative Louise Stutes agreed that the work to repair the industry has just begun, and solicited more public involvement.
“I want to encourage anybody in the public that has further ideas that aren’t in this document to bring them forward. Bring them to my office, bring them to a fisheries committee members office.
And I would be very grateful because this is our priority, this is a crisis in our state. And we have an opportunity to address it,” Stutes said.
“These policy recommendations will not be the end. Our seafood industry is an ever-changing sector of our economy and will need further evaluation and modernization. Even though this task force disbands on February 1, 2025, it is the goal and aspiration of each member to continue the work developed through the committee’s efforts this past fall, and with these efforts, we can weather this perfect storm and rebuild a thriving seafood industry that is second to none,” Stevens summarized.
