Insight
F/T American No. 1 in Togiak. Christened in 1979 by Senator Warren G. Magnuson, who proclaimed at the time, “This vessel marks the beginning of the end of foreign dominance in the U.S. fisheries.” Photo credit: Terry Lane | Alaska Seafood Cooperative
Rich in resource (or “quota”), wearing or worn vessels and factories (or “steel”), and capital-poor, the Alaska cooperative fisheries present a contrast between recent times when capital flowed freely to owners and the impending future capital appetite of the businesses to refurbish the fleet. The welcome mat is out for new sources of capital as forces strengthen for further consolidation of the fisheries.