Community Participation in North Pacific Groundfish Fisheries
Alaska FMP Groundfish Fisheries
The North Pacific region’s commercial fisheries have transformed over time with changing technology, labor, market demand, and legislation. The earliest commercial fishing efforts by U.S. vessels in waters off the coast of Alaska emerged in the 1860s, primarily targeting Pacific cod. With the development of diesel engines, commercial fisheries for Pacific halibut and groundfish expanded north to the Gulf of Alaska (Gulf) and into the Bering Sea (BS) region by the 1920s. By the mid-1900s, fisheries had developed for a variety of groundfish species. Groundfish fisheries changed dramatically in the wake of World War II as Alaskan commercial fisheries expanded and industrialized. From the end of World War II to the introduction of the Exclusive Economic Zone under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the North Pacific region’s harvests increased substantially. The greatest increase was in the groundfish and crab sectors in the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and Gulf. Groundfish harvests grew to exceed 2 million tons (mt) per year in the early 1970s. Technological developments and changes in marketing continued to increase harvests, leading to some concern of overexploitation, particularly by foreign fleets. The 1945 Truman Proclamation stressed the U.S.’s right to manage and conserve living marine resources in these areas and to require foreign compliance.8 This claim was not effectively exercised until the MSA was implemented in 1977. The MSA has been amended over the years, most substantially in 1996 with the Sustainable Fisheries Act, and in 2006 with the Reauthorization Act. The Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act is currently being considered in Congress.
Commercial Groundfish Harvesting Engagement
Data were collected for 103 communities or community groupings throughout the U.S. to create performance metrics of community participation in Alaska groundfish FMP fisheries from 2008-2023. Communities were included if they had either some commercial BSAI or Gulf FMP groundfish fisheries landings or residents who owned vessels used in commercial BSAI or Gulf FMP groundfish fishing during this time period. Of these 103 communities, 63 had some groundfish landings in their community while 93 had a resident who owned a vessel that participated in commercial groundfish harvest. All 103 communities were included in both the commercial harvesting and processing engagement index. The results of the commercial harvesting engagement PCFA analyses are shown here in Table 4.1, which presents the eigenvalues, factor loadings, total variance explained, and Armor’s theta reliability coefficient cited for all variables. The results suggest fairly strong relationships among variables, and that a single index based on the first extracted factor explains over 78% of the variation in each of the variables in each year. Figure 4.1 displays the aggregate annual values of the four variables that make up the harvesting engagement index for each year to better understand the absolute changes in North Pacific groundfish harvesting activities that are underlying the relative harvesting engagement index. Aggregate revenues were down 1.48% with pounds landed falling by 1.88%, respectively, in 2023 compared with their 2018 - 2022 average while being harvested by 2.47% fewer vessels, which were owned by 3.06% fewer individuals.
In addition to the goodness of fit statistics of the analyses provided in Table 4.1, each PCFA provides an index score for each of the 103 communities included in the harvesting engagement analyses. Table 4.2 displays commercial groundfish harvesting engagement index results for the 6 communities that were highly engaged in FMP groundfish harvesting for at least one year between 2008-2023. Communities are defined as highly engaged when their index score is above one, or one standard deviation above the mean of zero.
The harvesting engagement index is a relative indicator of community participation compared to the participation of all other communities that harvest BSAI and Gulf FMP groundfish. It measures the presence of commercial fishing participation through residents who own commercial fishing vessels that are active in FMP groundfish fisheries. Variables included in the index are pounds landed and revenue by resident vessel owners, the number of active vessels, and the number of unique vessel owners in the community.
| Year |
Eigenvalues
|
Factor Loadings
|
Percent variance explained | Armor's Theta | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Ex-vessel value from vessel owners | Pounds landed by vessel owners | Total # fishing vessels | Total # of unique vessels owners | |||
| 2008 | 3.12 | 0.83 | 0.06 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.49 | 0.97 | 78% | 0.91 |
| 2009 | 3.11 | 0.85 | 0.05 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.46 | 0.98 | 78% | 0.90 |
| 2010 | 3.10 | 0.86 | 0.04 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.44 | 0.98 | 77% | 0.90 |
| 2011 | 3.10 | 0.84 | 0.05 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.47 | 0.97 | 78% | 0.90 |
| 2012 | 3.09 | 0.85 | 0.06 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.46 | 0.97 | 77% | 0.90 |
| 2013 | 3.10 | 0.84 | 0.05 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.47 | 0.98 | 78% | 0.90 |
| 2014 | 3.12 | 0.83 | 0.05 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.49 | 0.97 | 78% | 0.91 |
| 2015 | 3.12 | 0.81 | 0.07 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.51 | 0.96 | 78% | 0.91 |
| 2016 | 3.14 | 0.78 | 0.07 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.54 | 0.97 | 79% | 0.91 |
| 2017 | 3.16 | 0.76 | 0.08 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.56 | 0.96 | 79% | 0.91 |
| 2018 | 3.13 | 0.78 | 0.08 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.97 | 0.54 | 0.96 | 78% | 0.91 |
| 2019 | 3.13 | 0.78 | 0.08 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.97 | 0.54 | 0.96 | 78% | 0.91 |
| 2020 | 3.12 | 0.78 | 0.10 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.97 | 0.55 | 0.96 | 78% | 0.91 |
| 2021 | 3.11 | 0.79 | 0.10 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.97 | 0.54 | 0.96 | 78% | 0.90 |
| 2022 | 3.09 | 0.78 | 0.13 | 0.00 | 0.97 | 0.96 | 0.56 | 0.95 | 77% | 0.90 |
| 2023 | 3.04 | 0.81 | 0.15 | 0.00 | 0.96 | 0.95 | 0.56 | 0.94 | 76% | 0.89 |
All 6 community groupings listed in Table 4.2 were Highly Engaged in commercial harvesting in all years from 2008-2023 : Homer, Kodiak, Petersburg, Sitka, Seattle MSA, and Other Washington communities. Seattle MSA has by far the highest degree of engagement over time, with fairly consistent index scores from 2008-2023. Aside from Seattle MSA, Kodiak and Sitka have the highest engagement scores over time. Between 2022 and 2023. Other Washington declined by -15.7%, while the Seattle MSA declined by -0.508%.
Kodiak, Sitka, Homer, and Petersburg experienced slight increases in index scores (1.31%, 1.91%, 5.03%, and 5.58%, respectively) (Figure 4.2).
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homer | 1.18 | 1.32 | 1.44 | 1.40 | 1.49 | 1.53 | 1.45 | 1.64 | 1.75 | 1.83 | 1.85 | 1.80 | 1.69 | 2.10 | 2.04 | 2.14 |
| Kodiak | 2.66 | 2.73 | 2.83 | 3.30 | 3.14 | 2.45 | 2.62 | 3.02 | 3.04 | 2.28 | 2.00 | 2.12 | 2.01 | 2.23 | 2.51 | 2.55 |
| Other Washington | 1.37 | 1.27 | 1.21 | 1.11 | 1.08 | 1.10 | 1.12 | 1.07 | 1.06 | 1.03 | 1.20 | 1.21 | 1.26 | 1.11 | 1.25 | 1.05 |
| Petersburg | 1.50 | 1.39 | 1.59 | 1.33 | 1.38 | 1.45 | 1.54 | 1.55 | 1.55 | 1.68 | 1.65 | 1.77 | 1.74 | 1.88 | 1.82 | 1.92 |
| Seattle MSA | 8.78 | 8.67 | 8.57 | 8.49 | 8.52 | 8.74 | 8.62 | 8.60 | 8.69 | 8.82 | 8.83 | 8.78 | 8.80 | 8.70 | 8.59 | 8.55 |
| Sitka | 2.36 | 2.77 | 2.78 | 2.69 | 2.73 | 2.77 | 2.89 | 2.43 | 2.05 | 2.31 | 2.38 | 2.43 | 2.48 | 2.26 | 2.36 | 2.41 |
| *Shaded cells are index scores above one (one standard deviation above the mean of zero) for at least one year (2008-2023) | ||||||||||||||||
Harvesting Regional Quotient
The commercial harvesting Regional Quotient (RQ) is associated with a community’s resident vessel owners to account for where the proportion of fishing revenue enters the local economy. Figure 4.3 shows the harvesting RQ for North Pacific groundfish revenue from 2008-2023. The RQ indicates the percentage contribution in revenue of FMP groundfish from resident vessel owners in a community relative to the total (shore-based and at-sea) revenue from BSAI and Gulf FMP groundfish fisheries.
The community with the largest share of harvesting vessel owners is the Seattle MSA, which averaged 16.7% from 2008-2023, followed by Sitka (12.4%), Kodiak (11.5%), Homer (8.34%), Petersburg, (7.96%), and Other Washington (4.88%). While the Seattle MSA has only a slightly larger share of the Alaskan groundfish vessels, those dominate the share of groundfish volume (77.6%) and groundfish value (69.8%). The other highly engaged communities had vessels which accounted for 1.61% of total Alaska groundfish revenues in Sitka, 5.21% in Kodiak, 1.47% in Homer, 1.87% in Petersburg, and 5.43% from vessels with owners residing in Other Washington. The regional quotient of harvest revenue in 2023 is fairly similar to those from the 2008-2023 period, with the Seattle MSA losing some of its revenue share which fell to 69.4% (from an average of 69.8%), while the other highly engaged communities increased their share, including: Kodiak (5.07%), Other Washington, (5.33%), Sitka, (2.02%), Homer, (1.61%), and Petersburg (1.48%).
Commercial Processing Engagement
The results of the commercial processing engagement PCFA analyses are shown in Table 4.3, which presents the eigenvalues, factor loadings, total variance explained, and Armor’s theta reliability coefficient (Armor, 1974) for all of the variables included in each PCFA. Vessel deliveries and landings were used as a proxy metric for processing engagement. The results suggest strong relationships among variables and that a single index based on the first extracted factor explains 76% of the variation in each of the variables in each year. In addition to the goodness of fit statistics of the analyses provided in Table 4.3, each PCFA provides an index score for each of the 63 communities included in the analyses.
The commercial processing engagement index is a relative indicator of community participation compared to the participation of all other communities that process BSAI and Gulf FMP groundfish. Figure 4.4 displays the aggregate annual values of the four variables that make up the processing engagement index for each year to better understand the absolute changes in North Pacific groundfish processing activities that are underlying the relative processing engagement index. As with the harvesting engagement indices, comparing 2023 with their 2018-2022 mean shows that aggregate revenues were down 1.48% with pounds landed declining by 1.88%. These harvests were delivered to 3.12% more processors in 2023 than the average of 2018-2022 and harvested by 6.94% fewer delivering vessels.
| Year |
Eigenvalues
|
Factor Loadings
|
Percent variance explained | Armor's Theta | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Ex-vessel value | Pounds landed in community | Number vessels delivering | Number of processors | |||
| 2000 | 3.99 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 100% | 1.00 |
| 2001 | 3.99 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 100% | 1.00 |
| 2002 | 3.99 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 100% | 1.00 |
| 2003 | 3.99 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 100% | 1.00 |
| 2004 | 3.99 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 100% | 1.00 |
| 2005 | 3.98 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 100% | 1.00 |
| 2006 | 3.93 | 0.07 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 98% | 0.99 |
| 2007 | 3.90 | 0.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 98% | 0.99 |
| 2008 | 3.94 | 0.06 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 99% | 1.00 |
| 2009 | 3.93 | 0.07 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 98% | 0.99 |
| 2010 | 3.91 | 0.09 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 98% | 0.99 |
| 2011 | 3.90 | 0.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 97% | 0.99 |
| 2012 | 3.88 | 0.12 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 97% | 0.99 |
| 2013 | 3.85 | 0.14 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 96% | 0.99 |
| 2014 | 3.83 | 0.17 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 96% | 0.99 |
| 2015 | 3.85 | 0.15 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 96% | 0.99 |
| 2016 | 3.83 | 0.17 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 96% | 0.99 |
| 2017 | 3.81 | 0.19 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.97 | 95% | 0.98 |
| 2018 | 3.84 | 0.15 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 96% | 0.99 |
| 2019 | 3.86 | 0.14 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 96% | 0.99 |
| 2020 | 3.97 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 99% | 1.00 |
| 2021 | 3.98 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 99% | 1.00 |
| 2022 | 3.78 | 0.22 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.97 | 0.97 | 0.97 | 0.98 | 94% | 0.98 |
| 2023 | 3.71 | 0.29 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.96 | 0.96 | 0.96 | 0.96 | 93% | 0.97 |
Table 4.4 presents index scores for the 6 community groupings that were Highly Engaged (i.e., had an index score above one, which is one standard deviation above the mean of zero) for at least one year from 2008-2023, and these cells are shaded in Table 4.4. Four communities (Akutan, At-Sea Processors, Kodiak, and Unalaska/Dutch Harbor) were highly engaged in commercial processing for all 16 years from 2008-2023, as shown in Figure 4.5 . The At-Sea Processor grouping has consistently held the highest engagement scores over time, partially due to the large number of vessels and the allocations of BSAI FMP groundfish species to this sector relative to shore-based communities. Homer became highly engaged in groundfish processing for the first year in 2022 and continued in 2023 while Sitka became highly engaged for the first time in 2023.
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akutan | 1.09 | 1.08 | 1.10 | 1.15 | 1.11 | 1.15 | 1.21 | 1.32 | 1.29 | 1.50 | 1.44 | 1.48 | 1.53 | 1.66 | 1.67 | 1.50 |
| At-Sea Processor | 9.31 | 9.38 | 9.41 | 9.29 | 9.31 | 9.30 | 9.18 | 9.13 | 9.12 | 9.17 | 9.17 | 9.20 | 9.09 | 9.02 | 8.96 | 8.85 |
| Unalaska-Dutch Harbor | 2.38 | 2.17 | 1.94 | 2.28 | 2.25 | 2.28 | 2.51 | 2.48 | 2.49 | 2.21 | 2.44 | 2.37 | 2.66 | 2.57 | 2.36 | 2.60 |
| Homer | 0.63 | 0.73 | 0.66 | 0.66 | 0.61 | 0.68 | 0.68 | 0.68 | 0.78 | 0.83 | 0.90 | 0.80 | 0.76 | 0.85 | 1.29 | 1.58 |
| Kodiak | 1.71 | 1.65 | 1.85 | 1.92 | 1.95 | 1.85 | 2.05 | 2.17 | 2.16 | 1.93 | 1.65 | 1.65 | 1.70 | 1.82 | 2.05 | 2.04 |
| Sitka | 0.85 | 0.80 | 0.76 | 0.82 | 0.77 | 0.79 | 0.83 | 0.78 | 0.71 | 0.82 | 0.83 | 0.85 | 0.90 | 0.88 | 0.80 | 1.10 |
| *Shaded cells are index scores above one (one standard deviation above the mean of zero) for at least one year (2008-2023). | ||||||||||||||||
Processing Regional Quotient
Another measure of community participation in commercial FMP groundfish fisheries is its processing regional quotient (RQ), defined as the share of commercial revenues within a community out of the total North Pacific FMP groundfish revenues. The RQ is an indicator of the percentage contribution in that community, relative to the total revenues (including shorebased and at-sea) from all BSAI and Gulf FMP Groundfish landings. Figure 4.6 shows the processing RQ in terms of ex-vessel revenue from 2008-2023.
The most prominent community for processing FMP groundfish in terms of landing weight has been the At-Sea Processing grouping, which accounted for approximately 54.6% of FMP groundfish landing exvessel revenues over the period 2008-2023. In terms of shoreside processing, Dutch Harbor/Unalaska had the largest share of landings revenue, averaging 16.6% over the same period. The two other communities highly engaged in FMP groundfish processing for all years are Kodiak and Akutan. Kodiak averaged nearly 7.34% of FMP groundfish landings revenues over this period while Akutan and all other not highly engaged communities averaged 19.1%. Sitka averaged 1.92% of FMP groundfish landings revenues over this period while Homer averaged 0.438%.
Comparing 2023 to the past five years, the share of landings revenue for the at-sea sector has fallen by nearly 1.46% to 52.7% in 2023. Dutch Harbor had a relatively large increase in RQ in 2023 compared with the 2018-2023 period of 17.1% in processing RQ to 20.3% in 2023. Processing RQ in Kodiak fell by 9.82% which results in a processing RQ value in 2023 of 5.68% for Kodiak. Processing RQ in Akutan was relatively flat with a 0.642% change which results in a processing RQ value in 2023 of 22.9% for Akutan and all other non-highly engaged communities. Processing RQ in Homer increased by 46.3% which results in a relatively low processing RQ value in 2023 of 0.324% for Homer. Processing RQ in Sitka had a modest increase with a 5.61% change which results in a processing RQ value in 2023 of 2.1% for Sitka.
Participation Summary for FMP Groundfish Fisheries
Based on the community engagement index scores for both commercial processing and commercial harvesting engagement, communities were categorized into low (index scores below the mean of 0), medium (index scores between 0 and 0.5), medium-high (index scores between 0.50001 and 1), and high engagement (index scores above 1) for each year. The number of years a community is in each category for the processing and harvesting engagement indices is presented in Table 4.5.
There are 30 communities or community groupings in Table 4.5 that had medium, medium-high, or high engagement in either harvesting or processing engagement and 9 communities were highly engaged in one aspect of commercial fisheries in any year from 2008-2023. There were 6 communities that were highly engaged in processing engagement and 6 that were highly engaged in harvesting engagement for at least one year from 2008-2023 with Homer becoming highly engaged in groundfish processing 2022 and 2023 and Sitka becoming highly engaged in groundfish processing in 2023.
| Community |
Harvesting Engagement
|
Processing Engagement
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | Medium | Medium-High | High | Low | Medium | Medium-High | High | |
| Adak | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Akutan | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| All Other States | 0 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anchorage | 0 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| At-Sea Processor | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Cordova | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Delta Junction | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dutch Harbor | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Haines | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Homer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| Hoonah | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Inshore Stationary Floating Processor | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Juneau | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Ketchikan | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| King Cove | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| Kodiak | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Newport | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Oregon | 0 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Petersburg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| Saint Paul | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sand Point | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Seattle Msa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seward | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| Sitka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| Wasilla | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Whittier | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Wrangell | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Yakutat | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
Groundfish Fishery Taxes
Taxes generated by the fishing industry, particularly the fish processing sector, are important revenue sources for communities, boroughs, and the State. There are two main sources of fishery taxes in Alaska: shared taxes administered through the State of Alaska, and municipal fisheries taxes independently established and collected at select municipalities. Fisheries tax revenue across the 8 highly engaged fishing communities in FMP groundfish fisheries is presented in Figure 4.7. This tax data should not stand alone to inform community engagement levels, as the data has many nuances with some communities not reporting taxes in some years, many reporting $0 in given years with no explanation, and with the sales tax including raw fish taxes in some communities, but with the inability to disaggregate. We have noted in figure descriptions when nuances were observed. Furthermore, to improve accuracy in this report and to increase communication and trust-building amongst institutions, this tax data has been reviewed by communities.
State Taxes
The fisheries business tax, implemented in 1990, is levied on businesses that process or export fisheries resources from Alaska. Tax rates vary under the fisheries business tax, depending on a variety of factors, including: how well established the fishery is, and whether processing takes place on a shoreside or offshore facility. Although the fisheries business tax is typically administered and collected by the individual boroughs, revenue from the tax is deposited in Alaska’s General Fund. According to State statute, each year, the State legislature appropriates 25%-50% of the revenue from the tax to the municipality or borough where processing occurs.
The State of Alaska has collected the fisheries resource landing tax since 1994. This tax is levied on processed fishery resources that were first landed in Alaska, whether they are destined for local consumption or shipment abroad. This tax is collected primarily from catcher-processor and at-sea processor vessels that process fishery resources outside of the State’s three-mile management jurisdiction, but within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, and bring their products into Alaska for trans-shipment. Fishery resource landing tax rates vary from 1%-3%, depending on whether the resource is classified as “established” or “developing.” According to State statute, all revenue from the Fishery Resource Landing Tax is deposited in the State’s General Fund, but half of the revenue is available for sharing with municipalities where fishery resources are landed.
Municipal Taxes
In addition to these State taxes, some communities have developed local tax programs related to the fishing industry. These include taxes on raw fish transfers across public docks, fuel transfers, extraterritorial fish, and marine fuel sales, and fees for bulk fuel transfer, boat hauls, harbor usage, port and dock usage, and storing gear on public land. There is no one source for data on these revenue streams; however, most communities self-report in their annual municipal budgets collected by the Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs. However, some communities report fish tax revenue as sales tax, which affects the accuracy of municipal tax data reported throughout this document and included in Figure 4.7.
For the Alaska communities identified as highly engaged in commercial harvest or processing of groundfish from 2008-2023, Figure 4.7 shows fishery-related tax revenue from municipal and shared taxes from 2012-2023. Unalaska consistently brings in the most fishery related tax revenue through the Fishery Business and Fishery Landing taxes and municipal raw fish tax. Unalaska experienced over a $4 million loss of fishery tax revenue from 2016 to 2017, but increased between 2018 and 2020 and between 2021 and 2022, recovering approximately $2 million of that loss. It is worth noting that until 2017, Akutan was entirely dependent on fishery tax income. In 2017, Akutan implemented a 1.5% sales tax, and stopped collecting a municipal raw fish tax. No taxes were reported by Kodiak in 2021.
School Enrollment in Groundfish Communities
Ensuring the productivity and sustainability of fishing communities is a core mandate of Federal fisheries management. One indicator to evaluate community vitality is K-12 public school enrollment. Declining enrollment trends, and particularly school closures, signal the community is in transition and possible social disruption. Public educational institutions offer a space for people to gather and invest in community events and shared wellbeing. Communities with struggling schools are likely also experiencing population outmigration, a declining tax base, and reduced public services. Figure 4.8 presents K-12 public school enrollment numbers for the six highly engaged groundfish communities within Alaska (including those in the harvesting or processing sector).
Overall, from 2008-2023, there has been a decline of 912 students (down 14.6% in total enrollment) for Akutan, Homer, Kodiak (Kodiak Island Borough), Petersburg, Sitka, and Unalaska combined. Akutan school district experienced a 243% growth in enrollment over this period, though it should be noted that Akutan has very low student enrollment numbers, with a maximum of 24 students in any year from from 2008 to 2023. All other communities have seen declines in school enrollment from 2008 to 2023, with percentage declines ranging from 10% in Homer and Petersburg to 14% in Unalaska and Sitka and 19% for Kodiak Island Borough.
The sharpest decline in enrollment occurred in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over all communities, enrollment declined 7%, with Homer seeing the largest percentage decline (18.5%). While there has been some recovery of enrolled students since 2020, the overall trend since 2008 has been of steadily declining enrollment.