Alaska Fish Factor

Hatchery reprieve - Two proposals to limit production of hatchery salmon were rejected by the Alaska Board of Fisheries at a special meeting on Oct. 16 in Anchorage. Both claimed that hatchery fish are straying and intermingling with wild stocks and are out competing wild salmon for food in the open ocean.

Typically, over 30 percent of Alaska’s total salmon harvest each year are fish that began their lives in state hatcheries, mostly pinks and chums. Longtime studies by state fishery scientists show some straying of the fish but in very small numbers.

A proposal by the Kenai River Sport Fishing Association asked the board to rescind an authorized 20 million increase of pink salmon eggs at a Prince William Sound hatchery. The group claims the fish threaten wild sockeye and king salmon bound for their region. It lost by a 6 to 1 vote.

Another proposal by former fish board member Virgil Umphenour of Fairbanks asked to cut statewide hatchery egg takes by 25 percent. That failed by a 5 to 2 vote.

According to the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) which has tracked salmon abundances and catches for five countries for more than 25 years, salmon catches throughout the N. Pacific remain near all-time highs and Alaska’s take tops them all.

The NPAFC also tracks releases of hatchery salmon from Canada, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the U.S. The five countries released just over 5 billion fish in 2017, similar to numbers over three decades.

U.S. hatcheries released the most salmon at 37 percent, followed by Japan at 35 percent and Russia at 21 percent.  Chum salmon made up 64 percent of all hatchery releases, followed by pinks at 25 percent.

The half day Fish

Board meeting drew lots of support from fishing stakeholders. SeafoodNews.com’s Peggy Parker said when people in the packed room were asked how many depended on hatchery fish for their livelihood, over half stood up.

Ugly crab is better – In the Bering Sea fisheries, crabs with ugly shells can comprise up to 30 percent of a catch at certain times of year and crab molting cycles. Shells that are discolored, scarred or covered with barnacles can be a turn off to customers, and fishermen get paid less for the so called number 2’s or dirty crab catch.

Alaska crabbers aim to get more value from the crab by convincing customers that it’s what is on the inside that counts in a Get Ugly campaign.

“We’re promoting it in a new way,” said Jeremy Woodrow, communications director at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. “We’re educating retail and food service professionals that once you get inside the shell it’s no different. And a lot of times these ugly crab are older and have greater meat fill so they are actually a better value often at a lower price,” he said.

The ugly crab campaign is modeled after similar “food enhancement” programs underway by farmers that is designed to reduce food waste and improve sustainability practices.

“Whether it’s produce or proteins, consumers are becoming more educated and definitely more thoughtful about where their food comes from. This dovetails right into that same mindset that it’s ok that your food might look a little different, it’s all about how it tastes and what it does for you as a person,” Woodrow said.

ASMI’s annual All Hands meeting is set for October 29-31 at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage. The public is invited to attend.