Federal grants to state agency aim to expand markets for Alaska seafood

Commercial fishing boats are lined up at the dock at Seward's harbor on June 22, 2024. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

The federal government has awarded more than $5 million in grants to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to help the state agency find new ways and new places to sell the state’s fish.

Of the federal money, over $4 million is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Regional Agriculture Promotion Program , known as RAPP. That money is being sent to be used in specific areas of the state to help improve international markets, said Greg Smith, an ASMI spokesperson.

In a statement, ASMI Executive Director Jeremy Woodrow thanked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for helping the state’s seafood industry in a time of economic crisis.

“The timing of the RAPP funds is well-aligned with the Alaska seafood industry’s needs to combat numerous global economic pressures. While these funds will help ASMI grow our international efforts, they will also allow us to shift our other limited fund sources toward the U.S. market, where consumer demand for seafood has fallen dramatically and is sorely in need of marketing support.” said ASMI Executive Director Jeremy Woodrow.

The other $1 million, in two $500,000 pieces, is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration’s Saltonstall-Kenedy grant program, known as S-K grants. The S-K grants, awarded in a competitive process, are for two initiatives.

One project seeks to expand Alaska’s presence in the U.S. pet food market. The market uses about $7 billion in agricultural products, but only $893 million of that is seafood, according to ASMI.

The second project is for study and possible replication of Icelandic seafood industry practices that employ value-added processes to create diverse fish products, including to nonfood products.

The announcement came less than two weeks after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a $10 million legislative appropriation for the marketing agency.

The federal grant money is not a perfect match for the vetoed state funding. Aside from being only half the total, the federal grants are directed for specific purposes rather than available for broader ASMI purposes.

ASMI is typically funded by a combination of contributions from the seafood industry, which are based on a percentage of the value of fish commercially harvested in a prior year, and the federal government. In most recent years, ASMI has not been funded through the state operating budget. However, the Legislature appropriated $5 million to the agency for the prior fiscal year, which ended on June 30, and Dunleavy declined to veto that. It was the first legislative appropriation to ASMI since fiscal year 2018, which ended on June 30, 2018, Smith said.

Industry contributions to ASMI generally run about $6 million to $16 million a year, while federal funds in recent years have ranged from about $6 million to about $13 million.

In another effort to boost Alaska seafood, legislative leaders said Wednesday they have appointed members of a task force created during this year’s session to make recommendations about strengthening the industry.

The Joint Legislative Task Force Evaluating Alaska’s Seafood Industry was authorized by a measure, Senate Concurrent Resolution 10 , that passed nearly unanimously in May. The task force is to conduct its business “with a statewide vision of the economic crisis in the state’s seafood industry and the need to find solutions to the economic crisis” and present a report to the Legislature, with recommendations, by Jan. 21.

Senate members are Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, who will chair the group, and Sens. Bert Stedman, R -Sitka; Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski; and Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau. House members are Reps. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham; George Rauscher, R-Sutton; Sarah Vance, R-Homer; and Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak.

“As the backbone of our state’s economy, the seafood industry is vital to both our rural and urban communities,” Stevens said in a statement. “Establishing this task force underscores our commitment to addressing the industry’s economic challenges and ensuring its long-term sustainability. By bringing together key stakeholders and experts, we aim to develop strategic solutions to support our seafood industry and bolster our state’s overall economic health.”

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