|
|
Message from the
Executive Director, Julie Decker
LISA & THE LADIES
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) spoke at a luncheon of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Pictured from left: Claire Laukitis, Julianne Curry, Senator Murkowski, Julie Decker, Tomi Marsh and Nina Schlossman.
Fall season is here, which means “meeting season” is also here for the seafood industry. In the month of September, I attended the following meetings on behalf of AFDF: Southeast Conference, Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, United Fishermen of Alaska, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Alaska Chamber, Alaska Sea Grant Advisory Committee, and the Industry Advisory Committee of the Alaska Maritime Workforce Development Plan. In the coming month, I will add the Alaska Shellfish Growers Association, and Pacific Marine Expo to this list.
During the meetings, I gave presentations regarding the Alaska Mariculture Initiative, the Alaska Maritime Workforce Development Plan, and the newly developed “Energy Analysis Tool” for commercial fishermen. Please read this issue of AFDF’s e-newsletter to find out more about these topics and more. Enjoy your meetings!
|
|
|
|
Beyond the Plate – New Category Announced
AFDF announced the 2015 Alaska Symphony of Seafood which will include a new category called “Beyond the Plate” and new venue in Juneau. The new category will broadly include by-products of many types. The definition of a qualified entry for this category is a consumer-ready product that is made with parts of Alaska seafood which would typically be deemed fish waste or a by-product of the primary processing, such as fish oil, pet treats, fish leather, etc.
The seafood industry has invested heavily in the development of new products from traditionally unused seafood parts. AFDF is excited to offer this new category to highlight and promote the improvements the industry has made to reduce fish waste, develop new products and increase the value of Alaska’s seafood.
The “Call for Product” will be issued in November, and entries will be due by December 31, 2014. Please stay tuned for more information, or check back our website for more information at www.afdf.org/symphony-of-seafood.
|
Alaska Chamber
The Alaska Chamber recently adopted a policy position regarding mariculture sponsored by AFDF and JEDC. The position is titled: Support diversification of Alaska’s economy including development of a robust mariculture industry. Several other policy positions were adopted which are relevant to AFDF members, including support for alternative certification for Alaska seafood, science based ESA listings and de-listings, and inclusion of the maritime industry in the list of Alaska’s priority industries. Fully position statements (including amendments) will be available at the Alaska Chamber website soon. Thanks to the Alaska Chamber for its support of the seafood industry!
|
RFM Certification
At its most recent meeting, the ASMI Board approved all of the recommendations of the RFM Task Force regarding improvements to its Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification. AFDF intends to apply to become a client for RFM certification of both the Pacific cod and salmon fisheries. If ASMI approves AFDF’s applications to become a client for these fisheries, the first step would be meetings with industry.
|
Iceland Ocean Cluster continues to impress:
The Alaska Division of Economic Development (DED) and the Juneau Economic Development Council (JEDC) organized a Trade Mission to Iceland from October 18-23. The trip is a result of the 2014 Innovation Summit, which brought guest speaker Thor Sigfusson, Manager and Founding Director of the Iceland Ocean Cluster, to Juneau to speak about value-added seafood products and the thriving Ocean Cluster in Iceland. The connections made at the Summit with members of the SE Alaska Ocean Cluster and the strong interest in capturing more value from our natural resources, prompted the State to work with JEDC on organizing this trade mission. The following article and excerpt are provided by the Iceland Ocean Cluster. |
|
|
Pacific Marine Expo Presentation
For the first time, real energy audits have been conducted on small commercial fishing vessels in Alaska. The results were incorporated into an “Energy Analysis Tool” to be used by fishermen to help analyze energy usage of all systems onboard and potential savings achieved by making operational or equipment changes.
During Pacific Marine Expo, an expert vessel engineer (Mike Gaffney of Alaris Companies) will be giving a presentation regarding the results of the audits, how they were incorporated into the tool, and how to use the tool to guide decisions regarding energy conservation measures. If you are a small vessel owner, and are interested in speaking to an expert vessel engineer, please attend this Expo conference on Thursday, Nov. 20th from 1:30-2:30pm. This conference is the result of collaboration between AFDF, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), and Alaska Sea Grant with support from a grant from the Alaska Dept. of Commerce.
|
Time to Execute the Plan
One of my favorite quotes from Henry Ford is, “Vision without execution is just hallucination.”
Now that we have a vision – the Alaska Maritime Workforce Development Plan – it is time to begin executing the plan.
On September 25, the Industry Advisory Committee which provides input into this plan met and discussed how to begin implementation of the Alaska Maritime Workforce Development Plan. Four objectives were identified as short term priorities and working groups were formed for each:
- Career Awareness, including a subgroup on K-12
- Vessel maintenance and repair
- Marine refrigeration
- Vessel engineering and licensing
If you are interested in becoming involved with the implementation of these short term priorities, or any other portion of the Plan, please contact Julie Decker.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
