Newsletter Home     Industry Bite     Wild Watch     Featured Articles     Featured Recipe     Order Materials 2007 Alaska Seafood Harvest Season Update This has been a record-breaking year for Alaska seafood harvests and an excellent example of Alaska's sustainable fisheries management practices at work - with many great opportunities for retail! The 2007 Alaska salmon harvest has clocked in as the 4th largest in history with over 200 million fish. Additionally, the sockeye salmon harvest is the 4th on record for reaching levels above 40 million fish. Just over 47 million sockeyes were harvested, which is substantially higher than the pre-season projection of 40 million. And, the pink harvest of 134 million fish ranks as the 3rd largest on record. Assistant Director of Alaska's commercial fisheries, Geron Bruce, states, "The period we're in now - and it's continuing - is the highest period of sustained commercial salmon harvests in history." Harvest quotas for Alaska crab are also up for this year. The 2007/2008 king crab total allowable catch (TAC) is set at just over 20 million pounds (a 31% increase over last year). The snow crab quota has been set at 63 million pounds (a 73% increase over last year) meaning that snow crab will be available at retail for the first time in several years. And, the trend continues for increased demand for cod and whitefish varieties. At a time when seafood stories in the news describe the dangers of over-fishing, depleting ocean ecosystems or rising food safety concerns, quite the opposite is occurring in Alaska. The state takes a precautionary approach to ensure the needs of the ecosystems are being met, and commercial seafood harvest levels are strictly regulated and enforced. As a result, no species of Alaska Seafood (whitefish varieties, shellfish or salmon) has ever been listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. It is for all of these reasons that Alaska Seafood is the world's gold standard for premium wild and sustainable seafood. For retailers, these record harvest numbers translate into substantial opportunities to market salmon (frozen and canned), crab and whitefish varieties! A wide range of new marketing and merchandising materials are available, including: A bilingual (English/Spanish) canned salmon brochure that details omega-3 health benefits Canned salmon shelf POS New recipe leaflets: salmon, crab and Alaska cod & pollock Crab on-pack, in-ice sign and posters COOK IT FROZEN!™ materials and recipes Order your retail materials now! Just visit www.alaskaseafood.org or call 800-806-2497 for help with larger quantities. Sources: SeafoodNews.com, September 13, 2007; Alaska Department of Fish & Game Salmon Harvest Report; and the 2007 Season Overview Presentation and October Seafood Bulletin by McDowell Group Get Ready for Alaska Seafood U! Alaska Seafood U is a brand new comprehensive online training site that will give your staff the knowledge your customers demand. Designed to augment current training practices, this training tool provides essential Alaska seafood information that your seafood staff can communicate to consumers to help them make better-informed seafood purchases. This one-of-a-kind interactive online training tool provides facts and tips on each of the Alaska seafood species, plus cooking and preparation information and a wealth of other helpful topics. Complete with colorful graphics and streaming videos, Alaska Seafood U offers an engaging learning environment for seafood counter and waitstaff. After successful completion of a series of short learning modules followed by multiple-choice quizzes, Alaska Seafood U students are presented with a Certificate of Completion rewarding them for their dedication to continuing their seafood education! Alaska Seafood U will go live on January 25, 2008! For more information on enrolling in Alaska Seafood U or for questions on other training tools offered by Alaska Seafood, please contact us at retail@alaskaseafood.org or 800-806-2497.