Spring 2007 Issue - Ballard Report
Score One for Wild Salmon, Alaska and Ballard
Posted: October 1, 2008
by Laine Welch You don’t usually think of Prince Charles when you think of the north Seattle community once known as “Snoose Junction.” But Ballard owes a toast to the future King of England.
Last fall, Duchy Originals, a food company owned by the prince, started a new line of smoked salmon, proudly advertising that the fish were wild ones caught in “icy clear Alaskan waters.”
That brought a protest from Scotland’s sizable salmon farming industry, which claimed the prince should have opted instead for salmon reared in the murkier waters of local fish pens.
No matter. A spokesman for the prince said he preferred to use wild fish that come from a fishery that’s rated “sustainable” by the international Marine Stewardship Council, or MSC. Alaska salmon does, and the Duchy’s smoked salmon from Alaska is now available in supermarkets across the United Kingdom.
It’s been that kind of year for the Alaska seafood industry, according to Laine Welch, a longtime seafood journalist based in Kodiak. Lots of deckhands in the crab fleet lost jobs due to “rationalization” – but otherwise things continue to look up. “I think the industry is better than ever all across the board,” Welch said, citing the following examples:
• The 2006 salmon harvest was valued at more than $309 million at the dock, the third year in a row the raw value of the harvest surpassed $300 million.
• Halibut prices topped $4 a pound and prices are expected to hold up in 2007.
• Pacific halibut and sablefish joined salmon and pollock on the list of Alaskan fisheries rated “sustainable” by the Marine Stewardship Council; and
• Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, joined Prince Charles in opting for “sustainable” fish, pledging it will only sell fish from sustainable fisheries. The same changes were announced by Compass Group, one of the world’s largest contract food-service companies, and Europe’s Metro Group, the world’s second largest retailer after Wal-Mart.
The move to “sustainable” fisheries is great news for Alaska. Only 22 fisheries in the world are rated “sustainable” for effective management practices by the London-based Marine Stewardship Council. Of the 22, 4 are in Alaska, and no other U.S. fisheries are so listed.
Was it just a few years ago that it seemed like less-expensive farmed fish were an irresistible market force? Yep. And the market for farmed fish continues to grow. But market share is also growing for wild seafood. Just ask the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organization: few wild fish appeal to consumers more than those from “icy clear Alaskan waters.”
Seafood processing and harvesting continue to be leading employment sectors in both Alaska and in Ballard. A study by the Port of Seattle released last year showed that fishing companies located on port properties in Ballard and Interbay accounted for 12,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, and for nearly $850 million in payroll. If the payroll was divided up equally, it would work out to $77,000 per worker – meaning just about every one of them can afford a toast to the Prince of Wales.
