Just before this issue went to print, NOAA Fisheries announced the release of a new report that paints a gloomy portrait of the state of Alaska’s seafood industry. It’s something that commercial fishermen in the region will want to read.
In the report, economists estimate that Alaska’s seafood industry suffered a $1.8 billion loss in 2022-2023, and that the industry saw a 50% decline in profitability between 2021 and 2023.
This, according to the data, has resulted in more than 38,000 job losses nationwide and a $4.3 billion loss in total U.S. output, which is the total dollar value of all goods and services produced.
The most affected states—including Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California—saw a combined loss of $191 million in state and local tax revenues, the report says.
Economists found that starting in 2022, the industry experienced higher costs associated with increased wages, higher energy prices and higher interest rates. Revenue decreased in 2023 due to declining prices for every major species group.
The report also states that in the post-pandemic years, retail operational strategies and consumer seafood purchases have changed. For example, retailers have changed how they handle the seasonal influx of seafood products.
“Historically, retailers would lower prices to clear inventory,” NOAA explained in an Oct. 9 statement. “However, strong retail demand for seafood during the pandemic as individuals ate at home was followed by a dramatic decline in that demand as restaurants and schools opened up. This meant that retailers were saddled with high-priced inventory and lower demand.”
Retailers transitioned to keeping supply lower by slowly moving inventory out of cold storage, something that’s been periodically reported on in Fishermen’s News.
A 63-page pre-publication version of the full report is available at https://tinyurl.com/43pv8d73.
Seafood Exports
The West Coast seafood industry did receive a little good news in early October however, when East Coast dockworkers and the companies that employ them came to an agreement that ended a days-old strike that shuttered all seaports along the East and Gulf coasts.
If the strike had become prolonged, shipping and logistics experts have said, U.S. seafood exports would likely to be one of the areas of the U.S. economy that would have felt strike-related disruptions first.
About $17 billion worth of fresh seafood is exported and imported through the East and Gulf ports annually, American Farm Bureau Federation Economist Danny Munch was quoted by the NBC News affiliate in Boston as saying.
“Those are all very perishable products,” Munch said. “They can’t just sit in a container forever.”
Fortunately, they won’t have to—at least for now. The International Longshoremen’s Association, which launched its strike on Oct. 1, suspended it on the third day due to a tentative agreement with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents employers.
The agreement would increase workers’ wages by 62% over the life of the proposed six-year contract, sources told various media outlets. What the agreement doesn’t do, however, is address the use of automated machinery, which is a big concern of the longshore union.
And that’s part of the reason why the truce between the two sides is only temporary. The strike has only been called off until Jan. 15. If no full agreement on a contract has been reached by then, it’s possible that the strike could resume, and again place significant quantities of American seafood exports in jeopardy.
Managing Editor Mark Nero can be reached by phone at (619) 313-4351 or via email at mark@maritimepublishing.com.