March 2, 2006

Alaska exported US$2 billion of seafood in 2005

Strong seafood sales played a large part in pushing a record growth of exports in Alaska, which increased 14 percent in 2005 and reversed a decline for the past several years, Alaska's governor Frank Murkowski announced.

Alaska exported nearly US$2 billion in seafood internationally in 2005, an increase of US$278 million from 2004.

Natural resource products account for 95 percent of Alaska's international exports.

Seafood prices continue to rise and prospects for more natural resource development are good, Murkowski said.

All top-10 harvests of salmon in Alaska for the last 100 years have occurred within the last decade. While Alaska's contribution is significant, the state is not a major supplier of salmon, producing 10 percent to 12 percent of the total world supply.

The industry is also seeing steady growth in salmon fillet production in the form of domestic salmon burgers. Canned salmon, one of the chief products of the state, continues to enjoy strong growth. Processors are also freezing Alaska salmon and reprocessing it overseas, mainly in China.