Alaska Fisheries Suffered $1.8B Loss in 2021-23: AFSC Report
NOAA Fisheries economists say Alaska’s fishing industry suffered a $1.8 billion loss in 2022 and 2023, and that the state’s commercial fisheries overall saw a 50% decline in profitability from 2021 through 2023.
“The social and economic ramifications of Alaska’s losses have reverberated down the West Coast and across the country,” Robert Foy, director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, said in a report released Oct. 9.
The downturn resulted in the loss of over 38,000 jobs nationwide and a $4.3 billion loss in total domestic dollar value of all goods and services produced. Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington collectively showed a loss of $191 million in state and local tax revenues.
The economic impact on fisheries in 2023 prompted the seafood industry to ask NOAA Fi...