Dutch Harbor Remains Top Fishing Port

According to the latest Fisheries of the US Report issued by NOAA Fisheries earlier this month, Dutch Harbor retained its title, for the 22nd consecutive year, as the nation’s top fishing port by volume, with 763 million pounds landed in 2018.

The annual federal report ranks Alaska first, among all states, in volume with landings of 5.4 billion pounds. Louisiana, 1 billion pounds; Washington, 590 million pounds; Virginia, 362.5 million pounds; and Mississippi with 320.3 million pounds came next.

New Bedford, Mass., was the leading US port for value for the 19th year in a row.

Alaska also led the nation in value of landings with $1.8 billion, followed by Massachusetts, $647.2 million; Maine, $587.4 million; Louisiana, $377.1 million; and Washington, $346.4 million.

Top species for overall value were in order Alaska Pollock, $1.98 billion for 1.6 billion pounds; shrimp, $990 million/305 million pounds; sockeye salmon, $940 million/193 million pounds; tuna, $836 million/384 million pounds; and cod, $745 million/292 million pounds.

Total domestic commercial landings of salmon came in at 576 million pounds valued at $598.1 million, down 432.2 million pounds (43 percent) and $89.7 million (13 percent) compared with 2017. Alaska accounted for 97 percent of total landings; Washington, 3 percent; California, Oregon and the Great Lakes, less than 1 percent.

Sockeye salmon landings represented 265.3 million pounds, valued at $351.5 million, a decrease of 26.3 million pounds or 9 percent, but an increase in value of $27.8 million, or 9 percent, compared with 2017.

Alaska landings were 556.8 million pounds valued at $553.5 million – down 429.1 million pounds (44 percent) and $92.2 million (14 percent) compared with 2017.

Washington salmon landings reached 17 million pounds valued at $31 million – down 3.4 million pounds (17 percent) and $522,000 (2 percent) compared with 2017.

Oregon salmon landings reached 951,000 pounds valued at $5.7 million – down 227,000 pounds (19 percent) but showed an increase of 3 percent in value ($147,000) compared with 2017.

California saw 1 million pounds salmon landings valued at $7.6 million, an increase of 481,000 pounds (85 percent) and $2.8 million (59 percent) compared with 2017. Chinook salmon were the principal species landed in that state. Commercial landings of sablefish represented 38.7 million pounds valued at $110.4 million, up by 958,000 pounds (3 percent) but short $33 million (23 percent) in value compared with 2017. Alaska landings were up to 27.2 million pounds, an increase of 6 percent. Landings decreased by 2 percent in Washington to 2.8 million pounds, with value reaching $6.6 million, down 26 percent. The 2018 Oregon catch saw 5.6 million pounds, up 1 percent, but value dropped to $11.8 million, down 24 percent. California landings of 3.2 million pounds and $6.4 million represented a drop of 17 percent in volume and 29 percent in value.

The annual update is described by Cisco Werner, chief scientist at NOAA Fisheries, as “a yearbook of fishery statistics on commercial landings and values, recreational fishing, aquaculture production, imports and exports and per capita consumption.”