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Seafood imports in the US again exceeded exports. Imports reached record
levels- $7.1 to 7.3 billion- while exports dropped 7 to 10 percent, leaving
a gaping deficit of $4.3 to $4.6 billion-16 to 24 percent more than last
year's deficit. USDC, fisheries of the US and Seafood Market Analyst, Narragansett,
RI. John Norton, president of Cozy Harbor Seafood in Portland, Maine, says,
"The Northeast fishery is alive kicking and growing. And the outlook
for Northeast finfish is positive. Conditions for the West Coast industry
are even less favorable. A resounding 43 percent of processors there say
the industry is losing ground. Rod Moore, executive director of the West
Coast Seafood Processors Association (WSCPA), says the ground-fish situation
on the West Cost instills more fear than hope. |
Salmon
Recently the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed adding 11 different
salmon populations from Washington, Oregon and California to the Endangered
Species Act listings. Alaska's fisheries are producing record annual catches.
There salmon, the source of 90 percent of the U.S. wild supply, are not
threatened. (Dan McGovern, 6/,98)
This year the projected salmon harvest in Alaska is 146 million fish.
Under the best of circumstances the remaining fisheries are expected to
produce about 25% to 32% less than the early projection figures.
Through August 13th total Alaska statewide salmon harvests reached 89.73
million fish. The species breakdown was 52.68 million pink salmon (59%),
20.94 million sockeye salmon (23%), 18.73 million chum salmon(21%), 2.00
million silver salmon(2.2%) and .37 million king salmon(0.4%). The catch
in numbers of fish was divided approximately evenly between the three major
regions. 36% of the catch, (32.37 million fish), was taken in Southeast
Alaska. This included 19.16 million pink and 13.73 million chum. 33% of
the catch was from the western district. This included 21.32 million pink
and 6.77 million sockeye, according to ADF&G figures. 30% of the catch
(26.56 million fish), were caught in the central region. This included 13.01
million sockeye and 11.61 million pink.Bill Court, 8/14/98
Swordfish
Stock assessments by the National Marine Fisheries Service reported that
the average weight of North Atlantic swordfish captured in 1995 was 90 pounds,
down from an average of 133 pounds in the early 1970s. Pacific swordfish,
on the other hand, are more abundant and significantly larger, with a 1996
average weight of 157 pounds. The amount of swordfish U.S. fishermen are
allowed to catch has been cut by over 30 percent since 1994. The fishery
is strictly managed by the U.S. government in accordance with international
fisheries managers.
Cod
Exports of cod to the United States were almost 101 million pounds in 1997,
double the 1996 exports of 51 million pounds, according to foreign trade
data supplied by Urner Barry.
Tilapia
Last year an estimated 15 million pounds of tilapia were shipped live throughout
the United States. Increasing demand from ethnic markets- particularly the
Cinese-American market- is fueling continued growth in the live tilapia
trade. Tilapia is the fastest-growing US aquacultured species, with production
increasing about 300 percent over the last five years. Domestic production
is expected to reach 19 million lb. in 1997.
Sturgeon
Presently, farmed sturgeon caviar production in the United States is at
roughly 1,000 lb a year. It is expected to double in '98 and potentially
hit 15,000 lb by 2002. (John Fiorillo, 1/'98) |
El Nino Report-
Californians are bracing themselves for the worst. The 1982-83 El Nino cut
the squid catch to virtually nothing, and biologists like Tom Okey of the
Center for Marine Conservation are predicting a similarly difficult time
in 1998. In Alaska, some are crediting the poor Bristol Bay run to El Nino.
The 1997 salmon season fell far short of expectations, and the 1998 season
could be affected, depending on when the current El Nino peaks. The current
peak prediction of January could affect the crab seasons in Alaska, but
no one is sure how.
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