Public and private groups are looking at new ways to enhance the value of Alaska's seafood industry. The multibillion-dollar sector is of significant importance to the state's economy, and Southeast is among its largest harvesters of fish and shellfish.
In 2013, Southeast fishermen brought in a record catch of 479 million pounds, worth $375 million. This was a 79-percent increase over the previous year, according to the 2014 By the Numbers report produced by Rain Coast Data for the Southeast Conference.
Fishing and seafood processing provide 4,260 jobs in the region and 390 jobs in Wrangell. In 2013, the maritime industry as a whole brought in 32 percent, or about $15.7 million, of the community's income. Wrangell fishermen themselves landed about 10.6 million pounds of seafood that year.
Though much is brought in, much is also being lost through waste created during processing. Citing a 2008 study by Dr. Peter Bechtel, Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) reports 1.25 million metric tonnes of fish waste is created in the state each year, with 200,000 tonnes related to salmon production.
AFDF director Julie Decker explained that her group is currently looking into methods for producing powdered protein supplements from salmon byproduct, such as heads.
“That's what we're trying to do, is develop a marketable product out of a byproduct,” Decker explained.
Market research by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has indicated such a product would be useful abroad as a dietary supplement, and it may be useful for foreign food aid purposes because it is more easily transportable and less prone to spoilage than canned equivalents.
Through its Alaska Mariculture Initiative, AFDF is now supporting development of a recipe to make use of the waste material but is currently trying to reduce the instance of smells.
“We applied for a grant from NOAA for the project,” Decker said. An application for a $373,509 grant to fund product development and market research was submitted in December, and the organization is awaiting a decision.
A variety of other options—including fish and bone meals, edible oils, plant fertilizers, pet food, bait and fuel—exist for using traditionally underutilized byproduct. AFDF previously researched cooperatively with private industry to develop fish oils as a marketable supplement during the 1980s.
Such materials can even be used for textiles, as Juneau startup Tidal Vision is demonstrating. Next week, the new company will begin marketing an introductory line of aquatic leather products through the online platform Kickstarter.
Tidal Vision cofounder Craig Kasberg said the project has been actively moving forward since November. Initially sourcing materials from a secondary processor in Kodiak, Tidal Vision will be purchasing skins and other reusable byproducts from canneries that process wild-caught salmon.
A fishing captain, Kasberg felt current processing methods for salmon and other sea creatures left a lot of waste material. Fishery byproducts such as skins, spines, shells and heads are routinely dumped or sent to landfills for disposal, which he felt was a wasted opportunity for improving the industry's global competitiveness.
“We're adding value to the primary processors' bottom lines,” he said. Greater efficiency through upcycling could benefit fishermen as well by diversifying their revenue streams in an at-times volatile commodity market.
The company will initially employ four workers, including two experienced tanners. The formula they use to tan the leather is based on one previously developed by Mike Ban, who in the 1980s and 1990s was involved with another leatherer, Alaskins, and is offering Tidal Vision consultation.
“We spent the winter experimenting with that formula,” Kasberg explained. What they've come up with is a more environmentally-friendly variant, exchanging toxic chemicals for vegetable-based and food-grade ingredients.
“It took a couple of tries, but we're there,” he said. “We're really happy with the durability.”
The finished product will be comparable to other leathers. “We actually think it's stronger,” Kasberg said, adding that they want to prove that through a laboratory trial.
The company will initially test direct demand through online sales of its wallets but eventually hopes to diversify its lines through joint ventures and co-branded products.
“We hope to be doing upholstery within the year,” Kasberg said. Options for using their product are as varied as any other leather, from footwear to guitar cases. If successful, the company plans to use other byproduct materials, such as crab shells, for creating textiles as well.
Because salmon harvests can be sporadic, Decker explained it has been difficult for processors to justify more investment, as opposed to year-round industries like pork and chicken processing. However, innovative and cost-effective methods such as these will help encourage such investment.
Through its Alaska Mariticulture Initiative, AFDF believes the industry can expand by a billion dollars within 30 years if it adopts more efficient production techniques and supports a wider variety of products.
Other public and private groups in the region are moving in the same direction, developing byproduct into value-added products. Last year, Southeast Conference more closely examined the economic outlook for the region's maritime industry, while Juneau Economic Development Council has included an Ocean Cluster among industrial sectors it targets for enhancement.
Last October the Juneau group sent a trade mission to Iceland in October to learn from that country's innovations. Despite a decline from 460,000 to 180,000 tons in its cod catch between 1981 and 2011, through value-added methodologies it was able to double its export value over the same period.
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