Friday, April 26, 2024

Alaska's seafood industry getting a bit rocky

 The Alaska seafood industry, estimated at $6 billion in 2021-2022, is projected to suffer a price collapse in 2023 as a result of inflation and increased worldwide supply. Despite supplying 60% of US seafood, Alaska accounts for only 1.8% of the global market. Salmon and crab account for 40% and 9% of industry value, respectively, competing with farmed and Russian products. Employment fell to 48,000 jobs in 2021-2022, with the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim region being hurt the hardest. A proposed task group attempts to solve these difficulties, such as market losses and plant closures, in order to ensure the industry's viability. This emphasizes the critical need for targeted actions to protect Alaska's significant fishing industry and assist the communities that rely on it.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/report-portrays-mixed-picture-alaska-130034976.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall


8 comments:

Dom Smith said...

I wonder what makes the Alaskan fish market unappealing to the global market. Is their lack of influence in the global market by choice? Or maybe other areas do it more efficiently? Or maybe there are other reasons, like lack of labor, ability to scale, etc?

Aqib Ali said...

we have seen inflation have adverse effects on various market including the fish market and housing market does this point to a serious upcoming global economic crisis??

Josh Hurst said...

I wonder how the projected price collapse in the Alaska seafood industry might affect the livelihoods of workers and communities dependent on this sector?

Des said...

With a majority of seafood being supplied domestically, but that same market holding less than 2% of the global market share, I wonder if our production and supply of seafood in Alaska is significantly inefficient. What could be causing such market share discrepancies.

Payton Boerner said...

It is interesting that we see Alaska as a large supplier of seafood since 60% of seafood in the US is from there, but internationally that percentage is very low and insignificant. I wonder if this disparity is due to quality or or more of a financial reasoning.

Kainaat Aslam said...

This highlights the urgent need for measures to safeguard the industry's sustainability and support affected communities.

Jenna Norman said...

It will be interesting to see the impact of this on these smaller communities in Alaska that are built on this industry.

Zach Jasper said...

I am curious what actions they can take, if any, to address the projected price collapse. Clearly they need to do something in response but it seems it will be very difficult to maintain the current state of their seafood industry.