Fisheries Development Efforts in Valdez

I may have sold an article to Pacific Fisherman magazine on the efforts the City of Valdez has made to improve fisheries infrastructure. It's a highpoint for me to finally sell a story and highlights the great accomplishments that have been made to develop commercial fishing in northeastern Prince William Sound. During the last seven years, the City has built a new boatyard, refurbished a number of floating docks and bought a new Marine Travelift.

Using federal economic disaster funds, the State of Alaska began what they called the Alaska Fisheries Revitalization Strategy in 2003. Valdez applied for a grant to purchase equipment that would help independent fishermen handle their catch. This grant resulted in the purchase and installation of a new heavy-duty crane and fish pump. A cooperation agreement was made with Peter Pan Seafoods and they used grant funds to build a new flake ice production plant. As part of the agreement with the City, Peter Pan will make ice available to fishermen at a greatly reduced price.

Efforts by the City have also fit well with the Valdez Fisheries Development Association (VFDA) Fisheries Business Incubator Project. VFDA is providing training to fishermen in how to process their catch as a value added product and the processing facilities to accomplish the work.

There are several more related projects in development. A new commercial boat harbor is awaiting approval in Congress. VFDA is pursuing a cold storage facility that will utilize waste heat from a local refinery to drive its refrigeration systems. A private businessman is looking building a fish meal plant, which would greatly benefit the fish community.

Valdez has seen an increase in landings of halibut and black cod. Hopefully the benefits of these projects will increase in the next few years.

Tags: Alaska Commercial Fishing, Fisheries Development