Alaska Department of Revenue released its (amended) 2005 Annual Alaska Salmon Production Report in mid-March. The annual report data is within the parameters of the Alaska Salmon Price Report (ASPR). The reporting threshold is one million pounds and the data includes only the six product-forms specified in the ASPR.
Despite a record pink harvest in 2005, canned salmon as a percentage of finished product weight fell to 39 percent in 2005. This reflects the ongoing product form shift from canned to frozen pink salmon (pinks made up 53 percent of 2005 live-weight harvest tonnage) and the 14 percent decline in canned sockeye production.
The shifting emphasis to frozen production may have cost implications for producers with respect to high fuel prices. Increasing frozen production and storage in remote areas typically means relying on electricity produced by costly diesel generators and used by relatively inefficient freezer vans. On the other hand, canned salmon can be stored and shipped without incurring that expense. This cost factor will not be a primary driver of product form decisions, but may play some role in determining pack composition in remote areas of the state.
Fresh and frozen fillet production continues to grow, totaling 25 million pounds in 2005, nearly double the production of 14 million pounds in 2003. Despite the growth, production of fillets within Alaska still makes up a fairly minor portion of total Alaska salmon finished product weight; about 4 percent in 2005.
