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SAFE Title

Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Groundfish Economic SAFE

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Photo: NOAA Fisheries

Annual Highlights

Stats title

North Pacific groundfish in 2019

totalcatch

2.2 million

metric tons of catch

exvessel

$979.5 million

estimated ex-vessel value

crewweeks

126,000

fishing and processing
crew weeks at sea

vesselcount

731

vessels fishing

revenueshare

50%

share of total ex-vessel value
of Alaska fisheries

wholesale

$2.5 billion

estimated first wholesale value

Text

About the SAFE

About the Groundfish Economic SAFE

The Economic Status Report for Groundfish Fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (Groundfish Economic SAFE) is produced annually by the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center to summarize available economic data about federal groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI).

The Groundfish Economic SAFE provides figures and tables describing various aspects of the economic performance of the fisheries, including:

  • catch, discards, and prohibited species catch
  • ex-vessel and first-wholesale production, price, and value
  • effort (counts of vessels, vessel weeks, and crew weeks)

Cite

Cite this resource

Fissel, B., M. Dalton, B. Garber-Yonts, A. Haynie, S. Kasperski, J. Lee, D. Lew, et al. 2021. Stock assessment and fishery evaluation report for the groundfish fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands area: Economic status of the groundfish fisheries off Alaska, 2019. Anchorage, AK: North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Contact

Contact

For more information, or to provide comments or feedback, please email jean.lee@noaa.gov.

About Groundfish

Federally managed groundfish in Alaska

Alaska’s FMP groundfish fisheries comprise six major species or species complexes: Alaska pollock, Pacific cod, sablefish, Atka mackerel, the flatfish complex, and the rockfish complex. Pacific halibut is not managed as an FMP groundfish. The fisheries for these species (complexes) are distributed across two regions: the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska. Each region can be broadly divided into two sectors: catcher vessels which deliver their harvest to shoreside processors, and the at-sea processing sector, whose processed product sells directly to the first-wholesale market.

SAFE Highlights

Catch

Catch text

Groundfish catch

The commercial FMP groundfish fisheries off Alaska had a total catch of 2.2 million metric tons (mt) in 2019 (including catch in federal and state waters), a decrease of 1.8% from 2018. Groundfish accounted for 83% of Alaska’s 2019 total catch. Total catches of Alaska’s FMP groundfish fisheries increased in 2019 for sablefish, and the flatfish and rockfish species complexes, and decreased for pollock, Pacific cod, and Atka mackerel.

Catch charts

Catch by species group

Share of total groundfish catch (retentions and discards) by species group

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2014

Share of catch

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2015

Share of catch

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2016

Share of catch

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2017

Share of catch

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2018

Share of catch

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2019

Share of catch

Retained catch by species group and harvesting sector

Retained catch all sector

Retained catch CPs

Retained catch CVs

Ex-vessel Value

Exvessel text

Groundfish ex-vessel value

The aggregate ex-vessel value of the FMP groundfish fisheries off Alaska was $981 million, which was 50% of the ex-vessel value of all commercial fisheries off Alaska in 2019. Pollock ex-vessel prices increased 7% to $0.16 per pound in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI), and 12% to $0.14 per pound in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Pacific cod nominal ex-vessel prices increased 5% to $0.42 per pound in the BSAI, and 8% to $0.49 per pound in the GOA. Among the other species that are the focus of the shoreside ex-vessel fisheries: The GOA flatfish ex-vessel price fell 22%, GOA rockfish prices were unchanged, GOA Pacific cod prices rose 8%, BSAI Pacific cod prices rose 5%, and GOA sablefish prices fell 27% (in nominal terms). For Alaska FMP groundfish in aggregate, the change in catch was larger than the change in price. For other fisheries in Alaska, halibut, salmon, herring, and shellfish ex-vessel revenues increased.

Ex-vessel charts

Ex-vessel value by species group

Share of groundfish ex-vessel value by species group

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2014

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2015

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2016

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2017

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2018

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2019

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Ex-vessel price by species and gear

Ex-vessel value by species group trawl

Ex-vessel value by species group fixed

Wholesale Production and Value

Wholesale text

Groundfish wholesale production and value

The gross value of the 2019 groundfish catch after primary processing (first-wholesale) was $2.5 billion, a decrease of 3% in real terms from 2018. This change was the combined effect of a 2% decrease in the real aggregate 2019 first-wholesale price to $1.2 per pound while aggregate production volumes decreased 0.6% to 931.3 to thousand mt. In the BSAI, aggregate first-wholesale value was stable and value was increasing for pollock and most flatfish except for yellowfin and rock sole. Value was decreasing for Pacific cod, Pacific ocean perch, and sablefish. In the GOA aggregate first-wholesale value decreased (16%) with decreases in value for pollock, pacific ocean perch, and sablefish while arrowtooth and Pacific cod value increased.

Wholesale charts

Wholesale production weight by species group

Wholesale value by species group

Share of groundfish wholeasale value by species group

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2014

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2015

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2016

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2017

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2018

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2019

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Effort

Effort text

Effort in the groundfish fisheries

The number of ‘crew weeks’ on at-sea processing vessels and catcher vessels of FMP groundfish are one measure of effort. These data indicate that in 2019 crew weeks for both sectors totaled 150,169 with the majority of them (122,248) occurring in the BSAI groundfish fishery. In the BSAI, the months with the highest employment correspond with peak of the pollock seasons in February-March and July-September. In the Gulf of Alaska, crew weeks peak February-May with the catcher vessel hook and line fisheries targeting sablefish and Pacific cod. Relative to 2018, annual crew weeks in Alaska decreased in 2019 by 1.2%.

Effort charts

Number of vessels fishing by gear type and sector

Vessels fishing by gear - CPs

Vessels fishing by gear - CVs

Number of vessels fishing by target species and sector

Vessels fishing by target - CPs

Vessels fishing by target - CVs

Crew weeks by month and sector

Number of vessels fishing by gear, month, and sector

Vessels fishing by gear and month - CPs

Vessels fishing by gear and month - CVs

Vessel technical characteristics* by fleet (2019)

* Z-axis (point size) scaled to number of vessels in the fleet

Vessel technical characteristics

Available Data

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Catch and discards

Report Cards