Introduction, Broader Context, and Hot Topics

Fishing Communities in Alaska

Fishing in Alaska contributes to local and State economies, cultural cohesion, and food security within Alaska and beyond. The hundreds of communities in Alaska involved in commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishing contribute to community wellbeing and economic livelihoods, and support meaningful ways of life for Alaskans. The Annual Community Engagement and Participation Overview (ACEPO) presents social and economic information for those communities substantially engaged in the commercial Fishery Management Plan (FMP) groundfish and crab fisheries in Alaska. ACEPO is a community level analysis guided by The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) management objectives and Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) National Standard 2 and 8 (NS2; NS8).

This document provides information on the social and economic benefits of FMP groundfish and crab fisheries. This objective is in line with MSA-NS2, which states that fisheries management shall be based on the best scientific information available. MSA-NS8 calls for the sustained participation and the minimization of adverse economic impacts for fishing communities. Economic and social benefits to fishing communities are tied to economic stability and community wellbeing. In line with MSA-NS8, the Council has identified seven management objectives, one of which is maximizing the economic and social benefits of fisheries to the nation over time (Crab FMP 7.2.2). These benefits include, but are not limited to: profits, income, employment, benefits to consumers, and “less tangible or less quantifiable social benefits such as the economic stability of coastal communities.” To support these management objectives and the MSA, the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) developed ACEPO to provide an annual overview of community engagement in Alaska fisheries. ACEPO is updated annually, and can be expanded to include more detailed information as needed and upon request.

Alaska communities were examined within the context of their geographic place, as well as historical and current fishing involvement in Alaska’s groundfish and crab fisheries. This analysis considers four performance metrics of overall participation in Alaska fisheries to understand the different ways that communities are involved. These metrics include: 1) commercial processing engage- ment, 2) commercial harvesting engagement, 3) the processing regional quotient which measures the percentage of all FMP groundfish and crab landings occurring in each community, and 4) the harvesting regional quotient that measures the percentage of all FMP groundfish and crab landings revenue attributable to vessels owned by residents of each community.

In addition to the engagement indices, this report considers communities’ engagement and reliance on subsistence fisheries harvests, as well as the effects of certain climate driven ecological and social stressors on community wellbeing. Together, these indicators provide a quantitative measure of community participation in Alaska fisheries and how their participation has changed over time since 2008.

This document is divided into four sections to provide a multiscaled synopsis of groundfish and crab fisheries engagement. Section I addresses the definition of fishing communities as described in the MSA, and details some of the social and economic benefits associated with participation in the FMP groundfish and crab fisheries. It details the method and criteria used to develop the Community Fisheries Participation Indices for Alaska communities, and to identify substantially engaged communities, the critical importance of subsistence fishing, and the impacts of climate change on the food security of these communities. Sections II and III present an overview of both groundfish and crab fisheries in relation to associated community level benefit. These sections identify which communities participate in FMP groundfish and crab fisheries, along with observable trends in participation. A general overview of crab and groundfish fisheries within Alaska is provided here in order to locate this analysis in historical and regulatory context. Section IV is dedicated to the individual Community Sketches created for each community identified as substantially engaged in the FMP groundfish and/or crab fisheries. The sketches offer a deep dive into community participation in fisheries and provide vital context to better understand possible social benefits. For the purpose of this annual report, to be consistent with Council management concerns, the existing database of community data was used including communities outside Alaska. The analysis focused only on commercial FMP groundfish and crab fisheries from 2008-2023, to maximize the best available data. It is worth noting that this report is not an exhaustive account of communities substantially engaged or dependent on fishing to support livelihoods and way of life; however, ACEPO provides an overview of select communities that are identified as highly engaged through quantifiable select criteria (see the methods section for further details).

The Importance of Human Communities

National Standard 8 of the Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA) states that management and conservation measures shall, “take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities in order to: (1) Provide for the sustained participation of such communities; and (2) To the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities.” The term “fishing community,” is defined as, “a community which is substantially dependent on or substantially engaged in the harvest or processing of fishery resources to meet social and economic needs, and includes fishing vessel owners, operators, and crew and United States fish processors that are based in such community.” While the MSA defines and mandates the consideration of fishing communities, what constitutes a fishing community in practice is complex and has long been debated.

Communities are diverse. For the sake of consistency, this overview follows NMFS’ interpretation of the term fishing community to mean, “a social or economic group whose members reside in a specific location…” As community level analyses continue to develop further, it should be recognized that the concept of community may shift within differing contexts and perspectives. While geographic location may be relatively easy to determine, defining fishing communities solely on geography risks overlooking social processes that are valuable to understanding social complexity, including social networks valuable to the flow of people, information, goods, and services. In light of the variations in use in marine spaces across different social groups, it is vital that the parameters of what constitutes a fishing community are thoughtful and specific. Some managers have turned to, “multiple constructions of communities,” to better understand fishing communities. Others expand the concept of, “community,” to include those areas, resources, and social networks on which people depend. The move toward ecosystem-based management within Federal fisheries may suggest greater consideration of “community-level processes, practices, interactions and interdependencies as starting points for understanding the relationship between the rich and complex social practice of fishing and marine ecosystems.” While the communities identified in ACEPO are defined by geographic location, we consider the level of participation in direct harvest, post-harvest processing, and associated community benefits in order to capture the linkages among people engaged in groundfish and crab fisheries, as well as the social and economic impacts on communities of place.

Scientific and Statistical Committee Comments
ACEPO was developed in response to requests from NPFMC for community-level information for the groundfish and crab fisheries. ACEPO provides specific fisheries data relevant to sustained participation in specific fisheries as well as broader community engagement and wellbeing to facilitate contextualized decision making by the Council.