February 6, 2020 — For more than 30 years, Alaska has been the nation’s largest producer of seafood by volume and value. This status continues into a fourth decade, detailed in a recently published report commissioned by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Focused on the 2017-18 period, the report describes the broad economic impact of the state’s seafood industry on a regional, statewide and national level, in addition to details about global competition, tax revenue generated by the industry, and other special topics.
Over the study period, an estimated 58,700 workers were directly employed annually in the industry with wages totaling $1.7 billion. Approximately 29,400 commercial fishermen participated in Alaska’s fisheries aboard more than 9,000 vessels ranging from small skiffs to large catcher-processors. Trawl, pot, longline, gillnet and seine gear types are the primary harvest methods in Alaska’s fisheries. About 26,000 processing workers were employed across Alaska in 166 shoreside facilities, with other processors active on vessels that harvest and process their catch. About 3,300 individuals worked at salmon hatcheries, managed fisheries, marketed seafood and provided other support services.
In addition to direct employment, additional impacts occur when industry participants purchase goods or services. For example, the welder repairing a gillnet vessel or the truck driver delivering fuel to a processing plant are indirectly supported by the industry. The seafood sector is also credited with impacts associated with local government services supported by seafood-related taxes or purchases in retail stores by processing workers, for example. Including all economic impacts, 37,700 full-time equivalent jobs, $2.1 billion in wages, and $5.6 billion in economic output (a measurement that captures all economic activity) is supported by the industry in Alaska.