 Alaska Seafood Newsbrief ASMI E-Newsletter for the Alaska Seafood Industry
August 31 , 2006
In this issue:
-- Alaska Seafood Suppliers: Be Sure to Meet Directory Deadline
Message from the Executive Director Where did all the pink salmon go this year? We have discussed this with ADF&G and a short answer is located later on in this newsletter. Hopefully this will shed some light on the current situation. ASMI has two new committees, Foodservice and Retail, that were formed to better guide our domestic marketing effort. Members were drawn from the existing ASMI specie committees. These new committees are up and running and will exercise oversight for budgets, programs, plans and consumer advertising in the domestic market. This was done as part of a board effort to empower the ASMI committees and align them more with ASMI programs, similar to the way the International Marketing and the Technical committees work. In short, this is where the action is on the ASMI committees. The next board and committee meeting is in Seattle on the 25th through the 27th of October where guidance for upcoming year marketing plans will be developed. The ASMI committees will have a significant say in developing this guidance. This meeting is open to the public and I will provide more detail as the date approaches. See you over the next swell, Ray Riutta |
Improved Alaska Salmon Handling Boosts Quality Every five years since 1991, ASMI has conducted an industry survey to gather information on quality handling practices used by Alaska's salmon fleet. Good news for the Alaska seafood industry and its customers: results of this year's polling of fishermen, on-shore processors, and off-shore processors show that compared to the previous five year period, during the last five years the Alaska salmon industry has markedly increased its adoption of handling practices designed to ensure salmon quality. Fishermen were queried about many aspects of fish handling, chilling and delivery times: all important factors in protecting the inherent quality attributes of the fish. The funding for the study was made available to ASMI through the Alaska Dept. of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. Click here to download a copy of the executive summary. |
Fewer Pink Salmon Than Expected 63 million salmon may sound like a lot, however the statewide Alaska pink salmon harvest reported by Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) as of last week is running substantially shy of the forecast. At times during the summer season, harvesting pink salmon in some areas of Alaska kept fishermen busy, but now fishermen and processors in some areas, including Southeast Alaska, are wondering why the pink numbers seem to be down. No cause has been officially identified, however in 2004, although there were large to very large escapements of pinks throughout Southeast Alaska, ADF&G biologists did observe an unusual amount of pre-spawn mortality among pink salmon particularly in smaller island stocks in Southeast, likely attributable to the very warm, dry weather that year. This season biologists have observed strong returns in some of Southeast’s larger mainland river systems, and other streams. The production of pink salmon in 2006 (issuing forth from the large escapements of 2004) seems to be highest from the larger rivers this year. Perhaps the bigger rivers, with flows increased by glacial melt and snow melt, were less affected by the warm, dry weather of 2004. To keep an eye on the commercial catch, visit ADF&G Commercial Fisheries "2006 Preliminary Alaska Salmon Catches." Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff produces commercial harvest forecasts each year for all five species of salmon in all regions of the state. The number and nature of the variables involved in these predictions makes it difficult to forecast with complete accuracy. For reference, here is the forecast published by ADF&G, last updated in February 2006. |
SOLE FOOD: Figuring Out Flatfish Buyers and sellers of Alaska whitefish varieties will be happy to have a guide for helping them tell one kind of Alaska flatfish from another. Find all four pages of "Characteristics of Common Flatfishes" posted on the ASMI website. The brochure, produced by Dr. Donald Kramer, Marine Advisory Program, covers species found in the northern Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. |
Barcoded Fish? A news report this month covered Oregon salmon fishermen's participation in a pilot program using genetic testing of fish to compile information on the river of origin of harvested salmon as well as detailed information on where they swim. The fish are tagged with metal tags carrying a barcode. When the fish appears in a commercial catch, the harvester consults the barcoded tag on the fish's jaw and, using a GPS receiver, enters into a computer information including the coordinates of the harvest location (longitude, latitude and depth), the date, and water temperature: detailed information that can later be accessed from a website. According to the story a network of labs has developed a salmon genetic database that covers 120 watersheds from Alaska to California. Although it was not the topic of the story, the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game also uses sophisticated genetic testing to aid fisheries management. |
Holland America Wild About Seafood ASMI has been working for several years to assist the cruise ship industry in incorporating Alaska Seafood into its menu offerings. This summer passengers on all Holland America cruises to Alaska choose from nightly Alaska salmon entrees, often are offered Alaska Halibut and Alaska Cod, and can even enjoy a special Alaska Klondike Gold Rush Dinner that includes seafood chowder and Alaska King Crab. ASMI provides technical support to Holland America, as well as sales aids. It should be noted that many organizations, from chambers of commerce to environmental organizations, from state agencies to coalitions of local government and business leaders, have been sending the message to cruise ship companies during the last several years that Alaskans would like Alaska seafood incorporated into Alaska cruises, and the cruise industry has been responsive. |
Alaska Seafood Suppliers: Be Sure to Meet Directory Deadline All applications for listings in the printed version of the 2007 Directory of Alaska Seafood Suppliers must be postmarked no later than September 30. All suppliers must return the update form in order to be listed in the new directory, even if they have no changes to report. Applications were sent during the first half of August to all suppliers on the State of Alaska's intent to operate list, as well as suppliers included in the 2006 directory. Any company that sells primarily Alaska seafood that did not receive an application and wishes to be listed may get an application by contacting Lynn Coffee, lcoffee@alaskaseafood.org. |
New Committees Guide Foodservice and Retail Promotions Members have been named to two new committees, the Retail Marketing Committee and the Foodservice Marketing Committee. Here is a list of the committee membership: Retail Marketing Committee
Foodservice Marketing Committee
International Marketing Committee to Meet ASMI's International Marketing Committee is slated to meet at NorQuest Seafoods in Seattle on September 8, 2006, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. New Images The ASMI image library has been updated with new photos of seafood harvesting in action: salmon gillnetting shots are now available. There are also plated food shots using smoked salmon. Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
phone: 1-800-478-2903
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
|