ach year, between 5 billion and 6 billion pounds of wild seafood is harvested in Alaska. Seafood processing accounts for 70 percent of manufacturing employment, and in 2017-2018, the industry provided an average of $5.6 billion in economic activity to the state, directly employing more than 58,700 people.

While there’s no doubt that this industry plays an enormous role supporting Alaskans, its overall impact, both in the United States and abroad, cannot be underestimated.

Seafood processed in Alaska takes many forms, from the savory fillets found on plates at white-tableclothed restaurants to fish oil used as nutritional supplements.

According to Jeremy Woodrow, executive director of Alaska Seafood Marketing Association (ASMI), most of the seafood produced in Alaska ends up as headed and gutted fish or fresh frozen fillets.

“While you might traditionally think of canned salmon as a large portion of the industry, only 15 to 20 percent of the overall salmon product takes that form, compared to the 40 percent it used to represent,” says Woodrow. “While that number is still significant, canned salmon has pretty much been replaced by fillets.”

One reason for this is that frozen fillets are considered a value-added product. Because it is more labor intensive than just removing the head and guts from a fish, processors can charge higher prices to retail and restaurant customers.

“Any time you can add value to a product closer to the point of catch, it’s going to provide better value for that product down the supply chain, as well as a higher return on investment,” says Woodrow. “This is not only better for processors but it translates to better prices for fishermen and increased value in taxes to communities and the state.”

Approximately 40 percent of the catch is sold as whole, gutted fish to US and international markets for further processing. This includes halibut, black cod, and salmon, as well as some larger volume species like sole, flounder, and Alaska pollock.

“While the majority of fish are sold as food, we do have some oil and fishmeal produced in the state,” says Woodrow, adding that these products, which are part of the salmon, cod, and pollock fisheries, equal only 3 percent of the industry’s total volume.

“When you can get more out of a fish, that translates to a greater value of the overall fish,” he adds of these offcuts, made up of the fish heads and carcasses that are ground up to make different feed products.

While the United States is a huge seafood market, it pales in comparison to China, Japan, and some European nations for fish eaten per capita. And while many people cook fish at home, in the United States they tend to eat seafood at restaurants more frequently; prior to the pandemic, 70 percent of seafood sold was consumed at restaurants.

“This is a huge, important number to share as we all know what happened in 2020,” says Woodrow. “The first thing to close as a result of the pandemic were restaurants; overnight, the fishing industry lost its number one supply chain and number one outlet for selling seafood.”

One good outcome of the pandemic, however, has been a huge uptick in the number of customers purchasing frozen and fresh seafood from retailers.

“We saw incredible growth through ecommerce, with people ordering online from third-party producers like Amazon Fresh,” he says. “While there were a lot of low points in 2020, this was a highlight for the industry because more people in America were cooking at home than ever before.

“Unfortunately, that comes with the caveat that this growth didn’t replace the volume of seafood purchased in the food service space; it was not a one-to-one switch,” he adds. “But we do hope that people got more comfortable cooking seafood and will seek it out because they are more confident now.”

The United States represents the largest single market for Alaska seafood products, with about 25 percent to 30 percent of the catch staying in the states. The other 70 percent is exported, primarily for consumption in Japan and Europe and to a growing South American market.

“Fish sent to China is usually reprocessed and exported from there; it is the largest exporter of our products,” says Woodrow. “However, with the increase in tariff rates and the pandemic last year, it made it much more difficult to get Alaska products into that country.”

In any given year, Alaska exports $3 billion worth of product to more than ninety-seven countries, accounting for more than $3 billion in sales, or two-thirds of total value.

“If Alaska was its own country, we’d be the eighth-largest seafood producing nation in the world, which is pretty impressive,” says Woodrow. “In the scheme of all products, including aquaculture and wild capture, we represent 2 percent of the global market.”

Some of the state’s largest competitors for wild-caught fish include Japan and Russia; it competes with Norway in both wild-caught fish and aquaculture, and with farmed aquaculture from Chile and several countries in Asia. This includes farmed shrimp, which is the number one seafood consumed around the world.

One growing area of interest is the mariculture industry, which the state hopes to develop to produce shellfish and aquatic plants for the long-term benefit of Alaska’s economy, environment, and communities.

Since the Alaska Legislature passed the Aquatic Farm Act 1988, mariculture industry development has progressed slowly, and annual production now equals approximately $1 million. During this same period, however, other regions of the world saw tremendous growth in the areas of shellfish and seaweed mariculture.

Former Governor Bill Walker established the Alaska Mariculture Task Force in 2014 to come up with recommendations as to how to support this burgeoning industry. The task force is made up of eleven representatives of various stakeholders, including communities, tribes, industry, hatcheries, the University of Alaska, the Alaska Department of Commerce, and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.

The Alaska Mariculture Development Plan, which was unveiled in 2018, established a goal to grow a $100 million mariculture industry in twenty years. This includes the enhancement, restoration and farming of shellfish including oysters ($30 million), geoducks ($10 million), seaweeds ($15.7 million), mussels ($7.5 million), sea cucumbers ($6.5 million), and king crab ($5.7 million).

The plan also includes a number of recommendations to establish a viable and sustainable mariculture industry, which includes securing and promoting investment in mariculture; establishing an Alaska Mariculture Development Council; maximizing innovation and growth through research; developing new mariculture markets and products; building public understanding and support for mariculture; promoting success through Alaska Native participation; aligning laws, regulations, and agency practices with stakeholder needs; securing seed supply through shellfish and seaweed hatcheries; and growing and developing the mariculture workforce.

While seafood is one of the state’s most robust industries, it was not left unscathed during the pandemic.

“At this point last year, there was doubt if the summer salmon season would even take place,” says Woodrow. “It’s scary to think back and realize that that might have become a reality.”

According to The Economic Value of Alaska’s Seafood Industry, prepared by McKinley Research Group for ASMI in January 2020, even a 5 percent decline in commercial seafood value equates to $285 million less in instate economic activity.

“Thankfully, a lot of stakeholders came together in the way that Alaskans do to make sure that the season could go on while still taking precautions to protect workers at processing companies and the fleets and residents in remote communities,” says Woodrow. “The processors spent hundreds of millions to keep plants open and have proper protective equipment; it was a huge cost to the industry to stay operational.”

He adds that these costs will continue to accrue throughout 2021. “While the vaccine will certainly help, we’re not quite there yet,” Woodrow says.

He adds that supply chain logistics have also been a big blow, with the cost of shipping containers alone increasing by 80 percent last fall.

“We’re spending more money to operate plants and fisheries, and spending more money to ship fish as well,” says Woodrow, adding that current estimates of the 2020 season show a 20 to 25 percent reduction in the overall value of Alaska’s fisheries, which will mean a $500 million loss in income to Alaska’s commercial fishermen.

Restaurants have also been slow to return, which Woodrow predicts will cause even more industry changes.

“It is estimated that 15 to 20 percent of restaurants across the country will not open after the pandemic; they are closed for good,” he says. “There are a lot of challenges facing the industry moving forward, including how we redevelop the market.”

As people began to adjust to the pandemic, they started finding new ways to enjoy Alaska seafood products, and it is hoped that this trend continues.

“The United States was very far behind on the adoption and comfortability of using ecommerce compared to some other countries, but it caught up really fast in the last year as more people become comfortable getting hard goods and fresh groceries delivered to their doors,” he says. “We hope that these changing habits will continue even when people are vaccinated.”

The need for food to be more convenient is also growing, with more people seeking out easy-to-prepare meals. “People want quick, easy, simple food that is still healthy, which is where Alaska seafood really excels,” says Woodrow. “We see a great opportunity to check that box.”

While 2021 is going to be tough, Woodrow believes that Alaska’s seafood industry will survive—and maybe even thrive—with the changes in consumer habits.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel; the consumer is buying more seafood to cook at home, and we’re hoping that when restaurants open, people will return to buying seafood there,” he says. “We’re looking forward to when that happens.”