Alaska lost nearly 7,000 fishing-related jobs between 2022 and 2023

On October 23, 2024By Yukito

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska’s fishing industry has been hit hard in recent years, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA Fisheries) latest economic report shows Alaska has lost nearly 7,000 jobs in the fishing industry.

The report comes after concerned members of the seafood industry noted declining profits in 2023 and asked NOAA Fisheries to conduct an independent analysis.

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

The report estimates that the Alaska seafood industry suffered a loss of $1.8 billion in 2022-2023, and the industry experienced a 50% decline in profitability from 2021-2023.

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

The report’s key findings show that costs were higher from 2022 onwards, linked to wage increases, higher energy prices and higher interest rates. This coincided with a decline in revenues in 2023 due to falling prices of all major species groups.

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

The two regions of southwest Alaska that experienced the greatest impact were the Aleutians East Borough and Bristol Bay Borough. The Aleutians East Borough lost 6,036 jobs and reported a loss of $573 million. The Bristol Bay Municipality lost 9,713 jobs and reported a loss of $404 million.

Summary of the effects of the income shock in 2022–2023.(NOAA Fisheries)

The Alaska Department of Air Force Labor and Development notes that approximately 80% of these workers are non-residents. Because the impact on job losses in the NOAA report includes both residents and nonresidents, job losses for residents of these areas alone are likely to be smaller, according to NOAA.

Total employment in fishing and fishing-related occupations in Alaska decreased by 6,952 jobs. This represents 18% of all fisheries and fisheries jobs that have been lost across the country.

Recent sales and closings

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

The sale of the Kodiak plant was announced last week, and the transactions were finalized in November.

According to the press release, there are no current plans to reduce employment, and both sides are “united in their commitment to ensuring job security and business continuity.”

Other major seafood companies such as Peter Pan and OBI Seafoods also announced closures this year. Peter Pan closed its operations indefinitely, making multiple sales and leases of its facilities and closing its processor in King Cove.

The report states that this closure resulted in an estimated loss of 70% of King Cove’s revenue due to multiple community projects that used the processing plant to purchase hydropower, water and solid waste disposal. OBI Seafoods has closed its facility in Larsen Bay.

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

The closure of the fishing grounds led to the closure of the only processing plant in St. Paul, and the NOAA report states that it was particularly devastating to Bering Sea communities.

“As a result of the closure, it lost 60% of its income from municipal taxes and the municipal budget, and the community declared a state of cultural, economic and social emergency,” the report quotes.

State Task Force discusses possible solutions

The new Alaska Seafood Industry Task Force met last Tuesday and Wednesday, during which NOAA presented its report. Some of the solutions proposed by task force members during Tuesday’s meeting included increased marketing funding, better training programs tailored to industry needs and a change to the fisheries product development tax credit. They also discussed offering low-interest loans to smaller businesses and insurance to help them deal with these financial challenges.

The task force plans to hold another round of meetings in Anchorage on November 13 and 14, with a possible third day on November 15. The task force hopes to gain input from CDQ, coastal community leaders and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority and have a more detailed discussion about financing and insurance for the industry.

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