Click on Topic for FAQs

Prices and Such     Back to Top

What are the current fish prices? Click here to go to the Division of Community Advocacy webpage to find current prices, compliments of the Division of International Trade.

What are the historical harvest levels of fish in Alaska? Try these:

What does "ex-vessel" price mean? "Ex-vessel" refers to the price of fish paid to the harvester by the processor at the first point of sale.

Employment     Back to Top

How do I become a fisherman? As with all employment, the first step is to get in contact with the fishermen themselves, (and "no" you don't have to be a man). The best way to do this is to walk down to a dock and inquire about work. However, there are other steps that may save you a trip to Alaska. The best way to get started is to visit the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development web page where you will find much useful information right at your fingertips! Click here.

How do I get a job in a processing facility? While “walking the docks” is a good idea when looking for a fishing job, this same approach is not as convenient
when looking for employment at a processor. The best bet is to visit the Alaska Job Center Network page and click on “Current Openings” to get a list of available opportunities you can look into.

Money     Back to Top

Where can I get money for fisheries related projects? There are several sources of financial help that may be tapped. The Economic Development Resource Guide is a very helpful tool to search for funding information. A few loan programs to look into are Alaska Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank,Fisheries Enhancement Loan Program, and the Fisheries Financing Program.

Industry Participants     Back to Top

Who processes salmon, halibut, crab or groundfish? A great source for this information is the Directory of Alaska Seafood Suppliers from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Internet site. You might also review a map of many seafood processors at our site.

How many processors of Alaskan seafood are there? There are over 500 processing facilities, including boats, shellfish farms and shoreside plants, registered with the Department of Environmental Conservation. Visit their website or view our shoreside processor map and catcher/processor map for a regional view of licensed processors in 2003.

What is a primary processor? A primary processor refers to the processor that engages in the first production act on the species. The term also refers to those operations that exist in Alaska. Much of the value added production occurs once the product has left the state. While a primary processor may also perform the value-added activity, coastal fish plants often perform only basic processing.

What is a secondary processor? Secondary processors are those that produce smoked products, salmon patties, salmon poppers and lots of other neat stuff. Secondary processors are often primary processors, but they also might be separate entities that strictly buy from the primary processors.

Do fishermen process fish? You bet. In fact, it is the fastest growing segment of the processing sector. The complexity of the processing depends very much on the fishery. For instance, in the Bering Sea pollock fishery, factory trawlers process much of the catch onboard. These huge boats, sometimes upwards of 300 feet in length, have all the sophisticated processing equipment of their shoreside brethren. For salmon fisheries, where State law prohibits the use of vessels longer than 58 feet, processing is often limited to gutting and freezing.

Hatcheries     Back to Top

What is a hatchery? A hatchery is a facility where native Alaska salmon are incubated, nurtured, and then released into the ocean. Hatcheries provide additional salmon for commercial fishing, subsistence, and sport fishing.

How many hatcheries are there? There are 31 private nonprofit hatcheries in Alaska in addition to two state hatcheries, three federal or BIA hatcheries, and several streamside incubation and restoration operations. The private nonprofit hatcheries contribute to the commercial fishing industry while the state hatcheries contribute to sport fishing and the other operations to research, stock enhancement, and habitat restoration.

How much do hatcheries contribute to commercial fishing? Forty million hatchery raised salmon were caught commercially in 2000. In numbers of fish, this equated to 34% of the commercial salmon harvest and 22% of commercial salmon revenues.

Where are hatcheries? The majority of hatcheries are located along the coast in Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet and Southeast Alaska.

What species are produced by hatcheries? Pink and chum salmon are the predominant species reared in hatcheries. Coho, sockeye, and Chinook salmon are also raised to a lesser extent along with several species of sport fish including steelhead, grayling, rainbow trout, lake trout, and Arctic char.

How many fish do hatcheries produce? In 2000, Alaskan hatcheries collected upwards of 71.7 billion eggs and released 1.4 billion fish.

For more information on hatcheries, visit the Alaska Department of Fish & Game’s Salmon Enhancement and Hatcheries page.

What is Alaska’s aquatic species import ban about? Does the State of Alaska have an opinion on genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? Alaska is committed to sustaining its wild fish stocks. When declining salmon stocks prompted the creation of hatcheries in the early 1970s to supplement wild stocks, the state established a genetics policy designed to protect the genetic integrity of wild salmon. Because salmon return almost exclusively to their natal streams/lakes to spawn, separate stocks of salmon acquire distinct set of genes unique to the salmon that breed there. Biologists believe that each stock of salmon has evolved to deal with its particular environment and that native salmon are the most fit salmon to breed in their respective streams, (best able to reproduce). Interbreeding with salmon from different areas, (that, consequently, have different genetic make-ups), or with genetically modified organisms, (whose genes are artificially altered by humans), could have negative effects on the native salmon by interfering with their genetic fitness and diversity. Therefore, the state requires that hatcheries raise fish from Alaskan stocks, generally from the region in which the hatchery is located. Except in specific cases, no (live) commercial or sport fish may be imported into Alaska or moved between major regions in Alaska. This prevents straying fish, (those that enter natural streams to spawn instead of returning to the hatchery), from ntroducing dramatically different genes into native populations. Fear of genetically divergent and genetically modified salmon escaping from fish farm pens contributed to Alaska’s ban on finfish farming. For more information, visit the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s genetics site.

Seafood Product Types     Back to Top

As you may have noticed from the list, these aren't necessarily the products you find in the neighborhood grocery store freezer. Here is a little list of some innovative fish products you can get these days.

There are also a variety of products available for pets, including a selection of dog and cat treats and dog, cat, and fish food.

What is roe? Short answer, eggs, (usually of a fish). There are many species that produce edible roe including salmon, pollock, cod, rockfish, and sea urchins. Roe is also known as ikura or caviar.

What is surimi? Surimi is a fish paste made of white fish; the species most commonly used in its production are pollock, whiting, and arrowtooth flounder. The paste is made into foods such as imitation crab, imitation lobster, and sushi products. Want to buy some? Click here to find a supplier.

What are blocks? This is what you get after you skin and de-bone species like pollock, Pacific cod, yellowfin sole, scallops, and salmon and then freeze them in blocks. These products are usually shipped to places where a large amount of food is served.

What are fillets? Fillets are strips of fish that are generally boneless and skinless. They are either added to other foods to make dishes or cooked and eaten as they are. Excellent pictures of fillets are here.

What does a pin-bone out machine do? Consumers often avoid fish products that contain bones. To overcome this nagging problem, machines to remove the primary component of the fish skeleton, the pinbone, were developed. This is primarily done with salmon, enabling the industry to package their top product as boneless fillets.

What does "value added" mean? "Value added" just means that processors have, well, processed the fish in such a way that it is more valuable that it was as a raw product. A headed and gutted salmon is not value added, but a smoked salmon fillet is.

Regulatory Agencies and Fisheries Programs     Back to Top

Who regulates herring, salmon, pollock, cod, rockfish, crab or shellfish? There are three main policy making bodies that regulate the various fisheries of Alaska. Each organization is comprised of a mix of stakeholders, including government, industry, commercial fishermen and others, who provide policy direction. The Board of Fisheries generates policies for the Department of Fish and Game. These state agencies regulate salmon, herring, crab, dive fisheries, and shellfish aquaculture. Essentially, state management regulates internal waters out to three miles from the baseline of the breadth of the territorial sea. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council generates policy regarding groundfish species, (including Pacific cod, pollock, and sablefish), for the National Marine Fisheries Service. The International Pacific Halibut Council is the policy maker for halibut with the National Marine Fisheries Service administering rules and regulations.

Who do I talk to about seafood permitting in Alaska? There are numerous links to permits, licenses and forms on the >Alaska Department of Fish & Game web page.

What is the CDQ program? While commercial fishing activity is abundant in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, few local residents have played an active part in harvesting or processing. The Community Development Quota (CDQ) program was designed to involve residents with the local fisheries by reserving fishery quotas for communities along the shoreline of Western Alaska. Through six regional coalitions known as CDQ groups, these communities apply for quota. The State of Alaska recommends the quota allocations and oversees the program on behalf of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service.Revenues derived from the CDQ program are used for fisheries infrastructure development, vessel purchases, vessel loan programs, training, education, and other important efforts that benefit community members and further their involvement in fisheries. For more information, visit the Division of Community and Economic Development CDQ web site.

What is the IFQ program and how does it work? The Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program restructured the management of the halibut and sablefish fishery in 1995. Rather than holding a short fishing season in which numerous permit holders competed simultaneously for fish, quota shares were awarded to fishermen with historical involvement. IFQ owners today can fish anytime within an extended season, typically from March through December, and may sell or lease their IFQ to other fishermen. The program decreases the physical risk to fishermen, increases the value of the fish through better handling, and provides the market with fresh halibut for most of the year. One negative effect of the program, however, has been an out migration of deliveries to those communities that lack consistent, affordable airfreight deliveries. The ability to target product to the fresh markets and fetch higher prices results in direct deliveries to ports with frequent air service or to ports that have access to the road system.

What is AFA? The American Fisheries Act is a congressional law passed in 1998 that brought several changes to the Alaska pollock industry. Foremost it was intended to rid America's waters of foreign processors. The Act also eliminated several pollock vessels from the Bering Sea and allowed for processing sectors to form cooperatives. These cooperatives are able to assign harvest quotas to members within the cooperative based on catch history. As the cooperatives increased yields and decreased bycatch during pollock fisheries, they also effectively assign harvesting and processing rights to Alaska's largest fishery. In 1998, the percentage of total Bering Sea harvest and value of pollock by vessels that registered a corporate or owner address in Alaska was 0.34%. By 2000, those numbers rose slightly to 1.1%. Harvest and earnings for vessels registered with corporate or owner addresses out of Alaska is upwards of 98%. CDQ corporations may own more than 10% of the total processing and harvesting capacity and control another 10% through their CDQ allocation of pollock.

Aquaculture     Back to Top

What is aquaculture? Aquaculture, in a nutshell, is aquatic farming. Different species of fish, shellfish, or aquatic plants are grown in fresh or salt water, primarily for use as food. In 1989, the State of Alaska banned finfish farming in an attempt to preserve the ecological balance and lessen the impact of supply in global markets. Finfish refer to species like salmon, halibut, black cod, etc. However, the state does allow shellfish aquaculture, which includes species like clams, oysters, scallops, and geoducks.

Why did the State of Alaska ban finfish farms? Finfish farming was banned in Alaskan waters in 1989. The intent was to preserve wild fish stocks and to protect the commercial fishing industry. Aquaculture is a positive growing segment of the world's food production system. However, it is not without its problems. The farm sites, particularly with salmon, become highly polluted with large amounts of fish bred and raised in relatively small areas. Because of overcrowding, diseases are easily contracted and rapidly spread, including to wild salmon swimming nearby. In addition, some farmed fish manage to escape into the wild. Some have theorized that the voracious, fast growing farmed salmon may prove to be the dominant species in a habitat and out compete wild salmon to the point of extinction. This concern is amplified under the premise that farmed fish were not selected for breeding purposes, which, in the long run, could lead to eventual extinction of the supplanted farmed fish. These environmental issues run counter to Alaska's Constitution which requires sustainable management of all Alaska's fish and wildlife. There are very important user groups, subsistence and sportfish, that also rely on the wild stocks. Anything that puts those stocks in jeopardy must be carefully scrutinized.

While it appeared more important in the 1980s than it does today, the finfish ban was also intended to protect the vitality of the commercial salmon industry. With huge supplies of farmed salmon hitting world markets, the effect of the protectionism is minimal. Alaska's salmon industry is facing a changing world and will need to change to remain competitive.

Sustainability     Back to Top

What does Alaska think about its fish and wildlife resources? Alaska is the only state in the nation with a constitutional mandate that requires sustainability of its fish and wildlife resources. However, with the abundance of fisheries resources, often involving disparate user groups, it is not surprising that controversies over resource management have been among the most bitter in Alaska's history. The courts have been called on frequently to decide the meaning of constitutional language in the context of these disputes. Under Article 8 of the State of Alaska Constitution, it reads:

What is the Marine Stewardship Council certificate? Those fisheries that are concerned with overfishing and want to prevent environmental problems so that the fishing industry continues to thrive can apply for certification of sustainability from the Marine Stewardship Council. If they follow all guidelines and score well when assessed against the MSC Principles and Criteria, they are rewarded with certification. This comes with rights to a product label, which may be recognized by environmentally concerned consumers not wishing to contribute to the overfishing problem. For more information, visit the Marine Stewardship Council.

Types of Fishing Boats      Back to Top

What are purse seiners? Purse seine vessels use nets to capture schools of fish. After locating a promising school, the net is released into the water and pulled in a circle around the fish. The bottom is then drawn closed, the fish trapped, and the catch pulled on deck and into the fishing hole for storage until delivery to a tender.

What are trawlers/otter trawlers/beam trawlers? Trawl vessels pull conical nets through the water, either along the ocean floor or at various points through the water column, catching fish as the boats move slowly through the water. Beam trawlers have a horizontal wooden or metal beam that helps hold the net open; otter trawls have special boards on either side of the net for the same purpose.

What are longliners? Longliners catch bottomfish by placing a line along the ocean floor with multiple baited hooks attached. Each end is anchored and the anchors are connected with lines to buoys on the surface.

What are hand trollers, power gurdy trollers, and dinglebar trollers? Trolling vessels move slowly while dragging lines with leaders and baited hooks through the water. On hand troll vessels, lines are hauled in by hand; on power gurdy troll vessels, lines are brought aboard using a power gurdy. Dinglebar trollers have weights attached to the end of their lines from which the leaders with baited hooks are attached. They are allowed to target groundfish and halibut while other trollers may take these species only incidentally.

What are set and drift nets? Set and drift nets are both gillnets, meaning that fish put their heads into the net as they swim, entangling their gills when they struggle to escape backwards. Drift net vessels place their nets in the open water where salmon are likely to travel. Set nets, on the other hand, are usually attached to the shore on at least one end.

What is the herring sac roe fishery? Herring are targeted mostly for their roe; in the sac roe fishery, herring are caught in gill net or purse seines and their eggs removed.

What is the roe on kelp fishery/what does "pound" roe on kelp mean? Herring spawn near the shore in shallow water, often on the blades of kelp, (seaweed). Roe on kelp harvesters sometimes pick the roe laden kelp after mature herring have spawned and departed. In the pound fishery, harvesters capture live herring and hold them in nets with kelp until they spawn. The herring are then released and the roe-covered kelp harvested. This second method is known as the spawn, (roe), on kelp pound fishery to distinguish it from fisheries where harvesters simply collect roe-covered kelp where herring spawn naturally.

What is a fish trap? A fish trap is an anchored or floating apparatus that funnels swimming fish along a meshed corridor leading to (an) enclosed reservoir(s). Fish traps were banned in Alaska in 1959 during Statehood due to sustainability concerns and the need for small boat fishermen to maintain an economic base. Though illegal in the state for more than forty years, the use of fish traps remains controversial.

What is a tender? A tender is a large vessel that can best be thought of as a seafood taxi. Harvesting activity often occurs in fishing grounds far away from plants located onshore or offshore. Fishing vessels frequently operate during short windows of time and cannot afford to make the trip. To bridge the distance, processors often hire tender vessels to transport the seafood from the grounds to the processing plant.

For more detailed information on trollers, purse seiners, and gillnetters, visit the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute’s site.

For more detailed information on trollers, purse seiners, gillnetters, crabbers, trawlers, and longliners, visit Alaska Department of Fish & Game’s What Kind of Fishing Boat is That? publication.

For more information on Alaska’s fisheries, please browse through the rest of our site and visit the web pages of other relevant organizations.