Teaser

Opinion: Sustaining Alaska’s fisheries through nonprofit hatcheries

You don’t need me to tell you that fishing is central to Alaskan life…

  • By Matt Alward
  • Wednesday, June 9, 2021 3:07pm
  • Opinion

By Matt Alward

You don’t need me to tell you that fishing is central to Alaskan life — as an economic driver, cultural touchstone, and recreational centerpiece. From commercial businesses to subsistence harvest to sport charters, fisheries have always played a significant role in the lives of Alaskans across the state, and we hope to continue that tradition for generations to come. Alaska’s fish stocks are a renewable resource that can support sustained fisheries well into the future—but only if properly managed. Hatcheries are vital to ensuring long-term sustainable harvests for all user groups, in years of both abundance and low returns, in Alaska.

The United Fishermen of Alaska strongly opposes fish farming — but hatcheries are not fish farms. In Alaska’s hatcheries, fish eggs are fertilized, reared to grow into juveniles, and then released as fry to the ocean to grow into adulthood. Most fundamentally, hatcheries serve to improve egg-to-juvenile survival. In nature, egg-to-fry survival rates among fish average less than 10%; in hatcheries, that rate is over 90%. With a mission to supplement wild stocks, most critically during years of low returns, hatcheries have allowed Alaska’s fish populations to thrive without reducing harvest opportunities for the user groups that rely on salmon. The development of Alaska’s hatchery program in the 1970s coincided with an incredible rebound of wild salmon populations across the state. It has led to some of the highest harvests in recorded history. As much of the world struggles to avoid overfishing, or depletion of natural fish populations, Alaska’s fish stock remains abundant, with three of the four highest wild stock returns in Alaska’s history occurring within the last ten years.

Nearly 50 years after establishing the hatchery associations, all commercial salmon fishermen in Southeast Alaska, Prince William Sound, Kodiak and Cook Inlet harvest hatchery-produced salmon as a part of their overall harvests. Beyond commercial fisheries, hatcheries contribute to salmon harvests for both sport fishing by residents and tourists, and personal and subsistence fishing. A recent 2020 report found that Alaska’s sport, personal use and subsistence fisheries roughly harvested hatchery salmon of 10,000 chinook, 5,000 chum, 100,000 coho, 19,000 pinks, and 138,000 sockeye between 2012-2016 annually. When it came to sport fishing alone, 17% of coho, 5% of sockeye, and 8% of chinook harvests were hatchery stock.

The report also outlined the role that hatchery fish play in providing vital fishing opportunities that otherwise would result in extremely limited harvests. We’ve all experienced some level of the inevitable ebb and flow in past fishing seasons. Still, with the contribution of hatchery-produced fish to the overall salmon population, the impact of that ebb and flow has been limited. Overall, hatchery-produced fish supplement the total salmon harvest and help to protect fisheries from large fluctuations in wild salmon populations. To further protect wild salmon stocks, the genetic diversity of hatchery-produced salmon is monitored, tested, and regulated closely by the Department of Fish and Game. Hatchery populations are marked before release to distinguish them from wild stocks.

Alaska’s hatcheries and their mission statements are rooted in meeting the needs of the fisheries and serving harvesters across the state with the shared goal of sustainability, food security and healthy salmon runs for generations. The release of hatchery fish into Alaskan waters ensures economic opportunity and healthy wild populations for years to come; not to mention additional food for marine mammals and other species competing for food in the ocean. Here in Alaska, we’re doing it right, and our hatcheries will allow sustainable fisheries to thrive now and well into the future. As a fisherman and an advocate for our fisheries, I look forward to this 2021 season and future seasons in which we can teach our children the values of hard work and sustainable harvests.

• Matt Alward is a commercial fisherman and the president of United Fishermen of Alaska.

More in Opinion

Nick Begich III campaign materials sit on tables ahead of a May 16, 2022, GOP debate held in Juneau. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: North to a Brighter Future

The policies championed by the Biden/Harris Administration and their allies in Congress have made it harder for us to live the Alaskan way of life

Soldotna City Council member Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings participates in the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL candidate forum series, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: I’m a Soldotna Republican and will vote No on 2

Open primaries and ranked choice voting offer a way to put power back into the hands of voters, where it belongs

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Vote yes to retain Judge Zeman and all judges on your ballot

Alaska’s state judges should never be chosen or rejected based on partisan political agendas

A vintage Underwood typewriter sits on a table on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the Homer News in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Point of View: District 6 needs to return to representation before Vance

Since Vance’s election she has closely aligned herself with the far-right representatives from Mat-Su and Gov. Mike Dunleavy

The Anchor River flows in the Anchor Point State Recreation Area on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Help ensure Alaskans have rights to use, enjoy and care for rivers

It is discouraging to see the Department of Natural Resources seemingly on track to erode the public’s ability to protect vital water interests.

A sign directing voters to the Alaska Division of Elections polling place is seen in Kenai, Alaska, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Vote no on Ballot Measure 2

A yes vote would return Alaska to party controlled closed primaries and general elections in which the candidate need not win an outright majority to be elected.

Derrick Green (Courtesy photo)
Opinion: Ballot Measure 1 will help businesses and communities thrive

It would not be good for the health and safety of my staff, my customers, or my family if workers are too worried about missing pay to stay home when they are sick.

A sign warns of the presence of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales at the Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, July 10, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Could an unnecessary gold mine drive Cook Inlet belugas extinct?

An industrial port for the proposed Johnson Tract gold mine could decimate the bay

Cassie Lawver. Photo provided by Cassie Lawver
Point of View: A clear choice

Sarah Vance has consistently stood up for policies that reflect the needs of our district

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Point of View: Ranked choice gives voters more voice

The major political parties are not in touch with all Alaskans