Alaska Seafood Newsbrief

Message from the Executive Director

Greetings-

Alaska's salmon harvest is proceeding well overall. So far more than 147 million salmon have been harvested, with the tail end of the pink harvest and the bulk of the coho harvest ahead. The total harvest will be substantially lower than anticipated, due mostly to lower numbers of pink salmon harvested in Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska. Pink salmon harvesting in Kodiak, Chignik and Alaska Peninsula areas came in strong. Although commercial openings on the Yukon were curtailed, the commercial harvest in the largest and most valuable fishery, sockeye in Bristol Bay, came in at nearly 30 million fish: about six million more than expected!

A week ago, I attended a public hearing in Alaska held by the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, established under the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Through teleconferences, public meetings, and the acceptance of written comments through a website, the Task Force is gathering ideas from the public to incorporate into U.S. ocean policy development. ASMI was invited to testify at a teleconference held this summer, and I provided oral and written testimony urging strong support for science, because decision making based on sound science forms the foundation of sustainable management of seafood resources in Alaska. Your public input should be directed to the Task Force, found on the web at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/ initiatives/oceans/

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See you over the next swell,

Ray Riutta

The Alaska-French Connection

"The Chateau-Musee, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France and Alutiiq Museum, Kodiak, Alaska opened a wonderful exhibition on Traditional Alutiiq Masks collected from Kodiak in 1872. Our guests were able to taste and experience Alaska's heritage and seafoods thanks to ASMI providing fresh Alaskan Seafoods for the opening," reports Dr. Sven Haakanson, Executive Director of the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak. Dr. Haakanson has spent a good part of the last decade on projects that revolve around ancient masks from the Kodiak Island area that were collected by Europeans more than 100 years ago. This hard work culminated in a project that brought together researchers from French and Alaska indigenous cultures of the Kodiak area to study and present the collection in a new light. Exhibits in Kodiak and Anchorage were followed by one held in Boulogne-sur-Mer this summer. Comme un visage or Like a Face is a project of the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository in Kodiak, and the French museum, the Chateau-Musee. ASMI representative for France, Nelly Masson, supplied snapshots of the exhibit's grand opening, which featured traditional dances performed by Alaskans from Kodiak, as well as Alaska seafood supplied by ASMI.

Your photograph of a beautiful Alaska seascape, fishermen at work, or your bright-eyed cousin holding up a commercially harvested Alaska fish could win you valuable prizes! Enter the photo contest being conducted by Pacific Fishing magazine, Alaska Airlines Air Cargo and Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. For details see the latest issue of Pacific Fishing or visit the website, click on the photo contest banner and read about the contest. Entries may be submitted via snail mail or e-mail. Finalists' photos will be on display at Pacific Marine Expo, and during the show, in addition to announcements of prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place there will be a "People's Choice" award.

Success at Japan Seafood Show, Mr. Fish Teaches School

The Alaska Seafood exhibit at this summer's Japan Seafood Show drew a crowd. Throughout the trade show, the ASMI crew offered tasting samples of two Alaska Seafood items: a fish ball and a chowder. The display case held premium quality salmon (all five species), black cod, Pacific cod, Pacific ocean perch, Pollock, halibut, snow crab, Dungeness crab, and king crab. Joe Jacobson, head of ASMI's international marketing program, and Randy Rice, seafood technical director, worked the exhibit together with the team put together by ASMI's representative in Japan, Ms. S. Lee. Special events were also held in conjunction with the show for Alaska's seafood trade partners in the Japanese market.

The ASMI team also participated in a parent-child cooking class using Alaska Seafood products, and reflecting traditional Japanese values of food preparation, wholesome nutrition, and parent child bonding. The class featured a segment starring "Mr. Fish," well known in Japan as the host of a popular children's TV show about fish. He captivated the audience with his winning brand of humor while educating them about wild Alaska seafood. ASMI's overseas promotions are made possible through the assistance ASMI receives from the Market Access Program of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service.

Commercial Fishing Exhibit at Museum of the Aleutians

The Museum of the Aleutians in Unalaska has an exhibit on an activity that permeates the identity of the community, but is rarely thought of by the locals as the likely focus of a museum exhibit: commercial fishing. Unalaska is one of the most important fishing communities in the nation, although it has a small resident population. It provides services for about 1800 fishing vessels working in the Aleutian Islands or the Bering Sea. One hundred visitors attended the opening night of the exhibit, and about 1000 people have seen the exhibit: impressive numbers in a town with a population of about 4,000 people! Visitors from various parts of Alaska will see the exhibit and learn about the commercial fishing industry in mid-September during the annual conference of Museums Alaska/Alaska Historical Society.

Wounded Warriors Benefit

A Wounded Warriors event held this summer in Olympia, Washington, received substantial support from the Pacific Northwest and Alaska seafood and maritime industries. The Madigan Foundation "Warrior Transition Battalion," was able to raise $20,000 at the event in honor of the soldiers' service to the nation. Event organizer (and former Bering Sea scallop fisherman) Mark Kandianis worked to rally the fishing and maritime industry around this endeavor. More than 500 Wounded Warriors and their family members tucked into an Alaska Seafood feed of barbecued Alaska salmon, barbecued scallops, and Bering Sea Bairdi Crab Salad. Crab captain and TV celebrity Sig Hansen mingled with the crowd: he autographed more than 200 photos of the Northwestern, and posed with the families for countless snapshots. ASMI Shellfish Committee Chair and Alaska Crab Coalition Executive Director Arni Thomson kept ASMI updated on this event and provided us with thise snapshot.

Experience Alaska Day at Alaska State Fair in Palmer

ASMI is sponsoring "Experience Alaska Day" at the State Fair in Palmer on Saturday, Sept. 5. If you will be at the fair, check out the Alaska Seafood banners at the fairground gates, listen for the announcements about ASMI and the Alaska Seafood industry, and visit the ASMI information table. To find the ASMI folks look for people wearing blue sweatshirts with the 50th Anniversary of Statehood Logo on the back, below the words "50 years of sustainable fisheries." Special thanks to ASMI Board member Kevin Adams and to Verna Adams for their voluntary commitment of time and effort to the cause at the Fair again this year. Direct questions to Lynn Coffee at ASMI headquarters.

Study in the USA Expo Promotes Alaska to Japanese Students

More than 18,000 Japanese high school and college students with families and friends checked out the possibility of studying in the United States at an event held at a brand new shopping and business mall in Tokyo called Akasaka Sakas. ASMI participated in the event, which was supported by the U.S. Embassy in Japan. The TBS TV Network was also involved, and it received press coverage on radio and internet new services. ASMI promoted Alaska and Alaska seafood to the thousands of people attending the event.

2009 Alaska Seafood Fair in Japan Promotes Statehood Anniversary

Throughout the month of July the Oregon Bar and Grill conducted its 2009 Alaska Seafood Fair, and celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Alaska Statehood. A special postcard invited customers to the fair to enjoy a special menu of "Sexy and Spicy Seafood from Cool Alaska." Peruse the menu offerings, which covered a full array of Alaska seafood products. Oregon Bar and Grill has been an excellent promotional partner for ASMI over the years.

Upcoming Events

To track upcoming ASMI Board and Committee meetings as well as ASMI program event participation visit http://www.alaskaseafood.org/industry/events/