The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development has issued a report in the December issue of their publication "Alaska Economic Trends" that shows Alaska fishing jobs held by Alaskans are in significant decline. The overall number of fishing jobs is also dropping. The report, titled "Residency and the Alaska Fisheries," is a comprehensive look at the fishing industry from small-time clam digging operations to giant factory trawlers, and examines individual fishery values, harvest shares taken by residents and nonresidents, and identifies some causes of the downturn. The foreword by Governor Frank Murkowski acknowledges the challenges facing the industry. Murkowski says, "Potential federal legislation resulting from the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy report, reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and the possibility of federal ocean aquaculture in the 3 to 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone all have the potential to affect Alaska's fisheries in the near future. We are in position to affect the development of these changes in Washington, D.C. while we also work here at home to improve opportunities for Alaska's fishermen."

According to the report, in 1984 resident fishermen harvested 58.8 percent of the product and kept 61.4 percent of the value of the 1 billion pounds of seafood landed in Alaska. That left 41.2 percent of the volume and 38.6 percent of the value for nonresidents. By 2002, those numbers had changed to a startling 80.1 percent of the volume and 61.3 percent of the value taken by nonresidents, leaving 19.9 percent of the volume and 38.7 percent of the value for Alaska fishermen. A total of 3.7 billion pounds was landed that year. The report also talks about the overall loss of jobs, especially by Alaskans. "In spite of the growth in production levels, the last 15 years have seen a dramatic decline in the numbers of people engaged in the Alaska fisheries," it says. "In 1988, the year of peak salmon earnings, at least 49,665 individuals were directly involved in the Alaska fishery harvest. 14,458 of these individuals fished permits, while an additional 35,207 purchased crewmember licenses. By 2002, only 27,101 people were still fishing. Of the 5,014 permit operators who had exited the fisheries, 4,336 or 86 percent were Alaska residents. Similarly, 12,604 fewer Alaskans purchased crewmember licenses in 2002; Alaskans represented 72 percent of the 17,550 overall decline in license sales." The number of nonresidents who fished permits declined by 20.7 percent from 1988 to 2002, and nonresident crew licenses dropped by 39.1 percent.

The report explains that Alaskans suffered sharper declines in income and jobs for several reasons. The losses suffered by salmon fishermen as a result of the precipitous drop in prices in the face of competition from farmed fish started the trend. Herring fishermen experienced a similar loss of value for their resource. At the same time, Individual Fishing Quotas limited access to the halibut and sablefish fisheries which were growing significantly in value. In addition, Americanization of the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands groundfish brought a huge influx of almost exclusively non-Alaska jobs while boosting the volume of low-value fish landed in-state. With the implementation of IFQs for halibut and sablefish, the fleet saw a consolidation that did not favor Alaska jobs. Even though Alaska residents received 63.7 percent of the total halibut allocation, the size of the average quota share issued to residents was less than half of those given to nonresidents.

Alaskans also received 40 percent of sablefish shares, but their size was less than one-third of those distributed to people from out of state. Because of the small size of their shares, Alaskans consolidated at a far greater rate, with small shareholders selling out to larger ones, and rural residents selling to nonrural nonresidents. Since 1995, 1,522 Alaskans have sold their quota shares, compared to 287 nonresidents. The transformation currently being undertaken by the crab fleet could have a similar impact on job distribution as IFQ holders consolidate shares.

The State of Alaska has tried various means of keeping the jobs in Alaska; resident loan programs for permits and IFQs, Community Development Quotas, provisions that cap the amount of IFQs that can be held by a single entity, and an aggressive marketing plan for Alaskan wild salmon. While the authors of the report are less than optimistic, Governor Murkowski had more enthusiasm for the future. He says, "Here in the state, I assembled a program of matching grants to businesses, communities, and individuals for salmon marketing, infrastructure and product development. We achieved legislation to allow loans for community purchase of halibut and sablefish fishing quota shares to keep these revenue producing assets within the coastal communities. We have reduced the tax burden on small independent fishermen who sell their own catch. And, our marketing efforts are beginning to show results with higher prices in some of our salmon fisheries this year. It will take continued effort in developing infrastructure and transportation to reduce costs, streamlining regulations to enable innovation and investment in new product ideas with the marketing effort to help sell them to the world. By working together we can create jobs for Alaskans and make a real difference in the lives of Alaska's fishermen and their families." The 27-page report can be found online at http://www.labor.state.ak.us/trends/dec04.pdf.