A commercial fishing boat leaves the mouth of the Kenai river for a day of fishing in Cook Inlet on Monday, July 4 in Kenai.

A commercial fishing boat leaves the mouth of the Kenai river for a day of fishing in Cook Inlet on Monday, July 4 in Kenai.

Maritime industry largest employer on peninsula

The Kenai Peninsula’s economy depends even more on the ocean and rivers than is apparent on paper.

Some are obvious: fishing, shipping and marine fishing guiding all depend on the ocean directly. However, others — such as processing, oil and gas support services and fishing gear retailers — only “touch” the water and may not be counted on a cursory glance. When added together, about 3,400 people on the peninsula work in a maritime-related profession, the most of any sector in the region, according to the 2016 Situations and Prospects report from the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District.

The annual report, which provides data and forward-looking estimates on the economy for the Kenai Peninsula, details a growing maritime sector that paid approximately $177 million in wages in 2014, the most of any industry in the region.

Most of the employment is in commercial fishing — almost half the workers are self-employed commercial fishermen, as are the vast majority of the earnings, according to the report.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development would not classify some maritime-related professions, such as fish processing, as farming, fishing or agriculture — they are classed as manufacturing. That separates some of the data, said Rick Roeske, the executive director of KPEDD. Because the economy on the peninsula is relatively small compared to cities like Anchorage, KPEDD has to blend together some data for confidentiality purposes, he said.

“You wouldn’t think that the peninsula manufactures a lot, but when you look at that data, 80 percent of it is fish processing,” Roeske said.

Fishing is a major driver in the four largest cities on the peninsula — Homer, Kenai Soldotna and Seward. The three ports in Homer, Kenai and Seward landed 85.2 million pounds of commercial fish in 2014, with Homer leading — its commercial fishermen landed 74 percent of all pounds of fish that Kenai Peninsula residents harvested and earned 65 percent of the gross earnings that year, according to the report.

However, other industries that depend on the sea are also growing. Cook Inlet is home to a vast number of seafaring boats, supporting a large boat service industry. More cruise ships are coming to Seward and Homer each year as well, bringing in tourism revenue and funds from the state’s commercial passenger vessel excise tax.

City administrations in Seward and Homer are in the process of improving their ports. Homer recently finished a paving project to provide access to its deep water dock. The city is also in the process of conducting a feasibility study to expand the dock, which should be finished and sent to the Homer City Council for review in the fall, said Bryan Hawkins, the harbormaster.

“There was a lot of survey and interviews with the customer base that use the dock now and expanding that out to other possible customers, to talk about Homer as a hub and connection point,” Hawkins said.

The deep water dock currently serves as the port for the handful of cruise ships that come to Homer each summer as well as a dock for industry, as in the case of the jack-up rig Randolph Yost, which spent the month of May at the dock before Furie Operating Alaska moved it to its Kitchen Lights Unit near Nikiski to drill additional gas wells.

Seward recently completed work on its harbor, replacing floats and installing lighting, said Matt Chase, the deputy harbormaster for Seward. The work was completed in April and replaced many older sections of the floats for the first time since the 1960s, he said.

The city is also in the process of building a breakwater near the Seward Marine Industrial Center on the east side of Resurrection Bay, which will establish more harbor space for larger vessels, Chase said. In addition to the breakwater, the city has also been working on the uplands to lease out more space to businesses, and many have shown interest, he said.

“When we started getting the permits and the rocks (for the breakwater) and the bids, it was like the gold rush was on,” Chase said.

Homer and Seward saw more cruise ships arrive last year — 19 percent more for Seward and twice as many for Homer between 2014 and 2015, according to the Situations and Prospects report. Hawkins said the number of cruise ships varies from year to year but has been relatively consistent for the past few years; Chase estimated that approximately three cruise ships arrive per week in Seward.

Tourism continues to grow on the Kenai Peninsula, with increasing visits and a predicted record-breaking year for 2016 amid an oil and gas downturn and a state budget crisis. Year over year for five years, guided water and land activities have increased, with sharp upticks in 2014 and 2015. Most of the industries that showed significant growth in 2015 were related to tourism, according to the report.

Although guided land activities are included in those numbers, gross sales from guided water activities outpace them by more than 19 times — more than $65 million to approximately $3.4 million in 2015, according to figures from the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s finance office.

The Situations and Prospects report works in complement with KPEDD’s submitted draft Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy plan, which encompasses five-year goals for the peninsula’s economy. KPEDD wants to provide information and collaborate with the various governments and organizations around the peninsula to work toward economic goals in the next few years, Roeske said.

“Although we’re connected by the road and the internet, we’re all pretty focused on our own little areas,” Roeske said. “We’re going to try to get these silo groups to become more cluster groups.”

 

Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Anchor Point man indicted for 3 shootings at Homer family planning clinic, recovery center

The grand jury returned 12 counts total for the three shootings

The entrance to the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center is barricaded on Overland Avenue in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Citing dangerous drivers, Kenai closes one entrance to visitor’s center

The barricade will be removed temporarily on Friday for Christmas Comes to Kenai festivities

A Kenai Peninsula Food Bank truck in the Food Bank parking lot on Aug. 4, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Food bank seeks turkey donations as Thanksgiving nears

The local food bank is calling for donations of $25 to “Adopt-A-Turkey” for a local family in need

Seward City Hall is seen under cloudy skies in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward budget hearing covers bed tax, wages, emergency medical services

The Seward City Council on Nov. 12 considered a series of legislative items connected to 2025 and 2026 budget

The results of ranked choice tabulation show Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, winning reelection in the race for Senate District D. (Screenshot/Gavel Alaska)
Bjorkman, Vance win reelection after tabulation of ranked choice ballots

An effort to repeal ranked choice voting and the open primary system was very narrowly defeated

Jacob Caldwell, chief executive officer of Kenai Aviation, stands at the Kenai Aviation desk at the Kenai Municipal Airport on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Aviation, Reeve Air submit proposals to bring air service back to Seward

Scheduled air service has been unavailable in Seward since 2002

Erosion damage to the southbound lane of Homer Spit Road is seen on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, following a storm event on Saturday in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
City, DOT work to repair storm damage to Spit road

A second storm event on Saturday affected nearly a mile of the southbound lane

Kenaitze Indian Tribe Education Director Kyle McFall speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Charter school proposed by Kenaitze Indian Tribe given approval by school board

The application will next be forwarded to the State Department of Education and Early Department

Suzanne Phillips, who formerly was a teacher at Aurora Borealis Charter School, speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Aurora Borealis charter renewal clears school board

The school is seeking routine renewal of its charter through the 2035-2036 school year

Most Read