The Alaskan commercial fishing industry has lost sight of what was once the bread-and- butter of many fishermen from Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea.
Two years ago, the Bristol Bay red-king crab fishery was closed. Along with it, Bering Sea crabs have disappeared , causing another total closure.
The fisheries together bring in millions to the fleet and coastal Alaska communities that depend on them. Fisherman have taken an estimated $287.7million hit since 2021 when the king crab was closed and snow crab harvest numbers declined dramatically.
These fisheries are not sustainable and boats cannot make ends meet without them. Boats are increasingly dependent on other work, such as fishing for cod, small amounts of bairdi crab, or summer tendering gigs to survive.
Bering Sea fishermen found out that they would be earning less cod than they had hoped this winter, and decided they could not afford to sit around. They did just that. They didn’t fish when the season opened. It worked.
Nearly 30 boats waited in port for better news, dropping anchor or docking up at ports, rather than heading out to the fishing grounds.
“Trident posted an extremely low price for cod this year, but no other processors would offer anything,” stated Chris Studeman (captain and co-owner of Kevleen K), captain and co-owner. “And they all expected that we would just go fishing with good faith that they will make it right in end.” You can’t run an operation hoping that someone will succeed.
Studeman picked up his phone to start a conversation about cod fishing with other fishermen. Studeman’s crew was joined by 26 boats in an informal strike. This season, federal cod fishing is likely to be in the range of 40-50 boats. This includes both the 60-foot and above sectors.
Studeman stated that he didn’t set out to plan anything, but just wanted some fisherman to talk. They soon got organized and realized they needed to know what the canneries had to offer before they dropped their gear.
Studeman stated that they never gave it a name or label. “We were trying to get the price out before we went fishing. It wasn’t worth 40 cents.
The fleet was told that Trident would pay 40 cents per pound for cod. However, they hadn’t heard from any other processors about the price. This is not uncommon. Fisherman often set out to catch cod before knowing how much they will make per pound.
Studeman, who has been fishing in the Aleutians almost two decades, said that this is how it works.
He said that the cannery had “almost always held all power” because they set a price and everyone goes fishing. The only way to stop this is to unite as a group.
That worked in the New Year. Studeman stated that he hopes the smaller and larger segments of the fleet will continue to work together to support one another and collaborate with the processors.
He said, “Because it’s possible to get both the small and big boats to agree on the same page,” he added. “And hopefully, we can reach an agreement on a price before we leave our homes.”
For three days, the boats remained still. They had received word from most processors by Jan. 4 regarding prices.
Studeman stated that they had a price of 45 cents per pound overall. Although this is less than last year’s, it makes a big difference in today’s economic climate.
He said, “Pretty much all of the crab fisheries we’ve been fishing on this boat are gone.” We don’t have much left to eat. We have cod fish and some salmon tendering to catch this year.
The price of cod is affected by many factors, including processing changes. Also, processors are seeing an increase in operating costs. UniSea President and CEO Tom Enlow said that the entry-level price of a processor has risen 14% from last year.
Enlow stated that the market is not the same as it was one year ago. “So if fishermen are paid the same price as they were a year ago, then we will lose money.”
Enlow stated that he still understands the origins of harvesters. He said that if he was in their Xtratuf boots, he would probably do the exact same. He’s grateful that the company was able to reach an agreement with the fleet.
Enlow stated that it is just a matter of us reviewing our calculations to make sure we can pay the harvesters what they want and still make money.
UniSea offers 46 cents per pound. Like most processors, UniSea also offers volume incentives to harvesters. As fishermen produce more fish, the price for them goes up.
For the 2023 “A”, season, boats over 60 feet can catch 5,168 metric tons of cod. With 2,413 tonnes, smaller boats are less fortunate than the larger boats. This doesn’t account for the reallocation that the fleet below 60 will receive from the jig-gear sector.
These harvest numbers have been in a downward trend over the last several years.
