Gov. Mike Dunleavy made waves recently when he proposed that Alaska get into the fish farming business.

Here’s a better idea: Use more of every fish that crosses Alaska’s docks.

All other U.S. protein producers strive to use all parts of their animals, “from the rooter to the tooter.” But in Alaska, processors utilize less than half of all the seafood that runs through their plants.

The bulk of the fish/crab byproducts are ground up and buried or discharged at sea. Peter Bradley’s “The Gut Boats of Alaska” article reveals how Alaska quietly permits major shoreside fish processors to dump thousands of tons of seafood “waste” at the mouths of bays, rivers, sounds and inlets.

One billion pounds of that is fish heads, which account for most of the processing waste, according to a 2018 specialty products report by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI). Just 1% is sold as frozen heads. Upping that could add over $100 million to Alaska’s first wholesale value.

Supermarket prices in Asia, for example, show salmon heads selling for up to nearly $5 per pound, salmon skins at $2.46 and salmon bones at $5.10.

[Opinion: Dunleavy fish-farming plan shows he’s given up on Alaska fishermen]

Utilizing the chitin in crab shells could add more than $10 million in first wholesale value. In fact, the ASMI report shows that using the heads, oils, innards, skins and discarded species such as herring or sculpin could be worth upwards of $700 million to Alaska each year. Alaska is poised to take steps in that direction.

Last year NOAA Fisheries announced that ASMI would receive $500,000 for each of two projects under the 2024 Saltonstall-Kennedy Competitive Grants Program.The first project will target the lucrative pet food industry. The second aims to use and market Alaska fish “co-products” in general.ASMI will evaluate Iceland’s “100% Fish” processing methodologies and determine which could be applied to Alaska. Iceland is a world leader in full utilization — a company called Kecisis, for example, has received large grants from the U.S. Defense Department. to provide cod skin bandages to the military that naturally regenerate human tissue.

That will help Alaska’s seafood industry make more informed decisions as it seeks to enhance the value of its products, consultant Taylor Holshauser told a joint legislative task force that’s evaluating ways to assist the ailing industry. ” It’s going to take investment and it’s going to take time, but some of the fastest-growing and most valuable markets anywhere in the world are in nutraceuticals,” he said.

Most of Alaska’s seafood processing has been done pretty much the same way for decades in facilities that were built in the 1970s and 1980s. Bringing them up to speed will require state investment.

The legislature could offer incentives for new processing plant construction and upgrades, and support for automation in existing plants. Facilities should include capabilities for secondary processing to be done in Alaska instead of in China.

The Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation is compiling a modernization initiative to help the seafood industry streamline operations, increase yields and reduce waste. A draft report is expected by May.

“You’ve got high costs for energy, labor and transportation, and extremely high capital investment requirements,” Holshauser said. ” So in terms of state policy, we really need to focus on things that increase cash flow for harvesters, processors, distributors, etc.”

Instead of Alaska investing in fish farming, let’s invest from head to tail in the fish that’s already here.

In place of an oil boom, there’s gold in all that gurry!

Laine Welch covered news of Alaska’s seafood industry for print and broadcast from Kodiak for 35 years. She retired in 2022.

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