Economic status of the groundfish fisheries off Alaska, 1991

Abstract

The North Pacific groundfish fishery in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off Alaska hit a milestone in 1991, when the domestic fishery completely replaced the foreign and joint venture fisheries. From the early 1960s to 1985, the foreign fishery dominated the catch. The joint venture fishery, where the domestic fleet delivers their catch directly to foreign processors, took the largest share of the catch from 1986 to 1988. Joint venture fisheries peaked in 1987 at 1.4 million metric tons (t) and ended in 1990. A major expansion of the wholly domestic groundfish catch began in 1987, and the catch grew to 1.8 million t by 1990. The domestic catch in 1991 totaled 1.76 million t, a drop of 2.5% from 1990, while the ex-vessel value increased by 16.5% to $521 million. The groundfish fishery off Alaska also surpassed the value of the Alaska Pacific salmon fishery for the first time in 1991, and groundfish exports from Washington and Alaska customs districts were up by 35% to over $1 billion.

This report presents groundfish catch, ex-vessel value, price, and vessel participation data by area, species, gear, residency, and mode of operation. The trends in North Pacific groundfish exports, U.S. groundfish imports, prices of competing products, consumption, foreign exchange rates, and holdings are also reviewed.


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