The arrival of herring signals the start of Alaska’s spring fisheries and this year’s commercial catch limits from each of the three main areas are record breakers. But much of the catch will go unharvested — there is no market.
Combined harvests from three prime producing areas total 118,346 tons, or nearly 237 million pounds.
The limit for the Sitka Sound harvest in late March is set at over 45,164 tons, followed the first days of April at Kodiak where a harvest of 8,075 tons is allowed. Alaska’s largest roe herring fishery at Togiak in Bristol Bay kicks off in May, with a whopping catch limit this year set at 65,107 tons.
But once again, the bulk of the available fish will go unharvested due to no buyers.
Since the 1970s the value of Alaska’s herring fishery has been driven by the roe-laden skeins in the female fish. When the huge schools arrive, managers monitor the condition of the ripening females over several days to obtain the highest-value product. Only then do they open the fishery to seiners and gillnetters.
In the 1990s, the roe herring could sell for well over $1,000 per ton to buyers in Japan, where the skeins are considered a delicacy. At that time the fishery tallied over $60 million to fishermen. Since then, changing tastes and attitudes in Japan have driven the value below $5 million in 2020 with catches averaging just 8 cents per pound ($160 per ton).
Japan is Alaska’s only roe herring customer.
“It’s maybe the most extreme example of how a major Alaska industry could be dependent on an extremely specialized foreign market. And it is a stark contrast to the diverse buyers of other Alaska (seafood) species,” said Gunnar Knapp, a retired University of Alaska Anchorage fisheries economist.
Most of the herring is frozen whole and shipped out in 15-pound bags to secondary processors in Seattle or Asia, and then sent to Japan. The herring are sorted by sex and the egg skeins are “popped” from the females. The males taken as bycatch and the female carcasses are ground up for meal for foreign fish farms, or simply discarded. A small portion is sold as bait.
The volume of herring not destined for human consumption runs as high as 88% each year.
“It’s like hunting a herd of deer only to harvest the liver. Maybe it’s time to start calling the industry what it is — the fishmeal industry,” said K’asheetchlaa Louise Brady, of the Southeast Herring Protectors in a March 2 opinion piece in the Juneau Empire.
“Herring is an unutilized resource. We are going to have a Togiak herring quota that will largely go unharvested because there is not a market. We’re working with the processing sector to try and find a market,” said Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang at ComFish in Kodiak.
Herring is a mainstay in countries around the world where it’s filleted, smoked, pickled or salted. The fish are provided primarily by Norwegian fleets and can pay out at $1.40 a pound to fishermen.
In Alaska, only Togiak herring are large enough to develop into fillets. Togiak fish can weigh between 14 ounces to nearly one pound compared to 4 to 5 ounces for other herring.
A report by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute said herring fillet production at Togiak could boost the first wholesale value to $14.5 million. That compares to an average value of $2.7 million between 2000 and 2019.
To reintroduce herring to American diners, ASMI in 2016 launched a weeklong Northwest Herring Week in Seattle with about 10 high-end chefs. The next year nearly 60 chefs and restaurants participated.
Askin’ for AlaSkins
AlaSkins dog treats, made from halibut, cod and salmon skins, are the creation of Soldotna resident Sara Erickson, who began making and selling them in 2017.
Since then, AlaSkins has won a 2021 Best New Business award by the Anchorage Daily News. The small company also took home a second place at the 2022 Alaska Symphony of Seafood competition.
Erickson buys freeze-dried fish skins from local processors. At her small plant in North Kenai, the skins are made into rolls or laid flat on dehydrating racks and packaged. Her crew of four also scrapes off any extra meat that goes into a canned product for dogs and cats.
No other ingredients are added.
“AlaSkins are full of protein, omega 3s, vitamin A, potassium, vitamin D, and B12. They don’t need any other ingredients,” Erickson said.
One ingredient option is skins laced with CBD oil to reduce pain or stress. AlaSkins partners with Homer-based Frontier CBDs to make treats from hemp oil combined with wild salmon oil.
“We didn't mess around with small amounts of CBD. We loaded each treat with 15 mg,” Erickson said.
Erickson is currently building a larger facility to accommodate growing demand. She envisions it might be a licensed processing facility that could accommodate other entrepreneurs.
The state does not do food safety audits on pet food makers, she said, which has blocked AlaSkins from breaking into big markets like Costco.
“Alaska really needs to start focusing on different revenue streams,” she said. “Instead of just selling our fish, sell the wastes. I want Alaska to start marketing this whole line that says Alaska seafood isn’t just for people, it's also for pets.”
AlaSkins can be found in nearly 20 outlets from Southeast to Fairbanks and at Erickson’s retail store in Soldotna.
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