January 11, 2021 — Fishing seasons are never the same. Variables make yearly swings the norm, and unpredictability means processing plants must be well-staffed and ready for any eventual harvest. But even for an industry used to volatility, 2020 has been a year like no other.
Seafood processors saw the costs of doing business skyrocket early this year as the covid-19 pandemic created widespread health and safety concerns. The disruption came just as the industry was preparing to hire for the summer salmon season.
Thousands of workers come to Alaska each year to process the catch, and most arrive in the spring and summer. The summer salmon harvest is the state’s highest-value and most labor-intensive. The first surge comes in June as processing employment doubles from about 6,000 jobs in recent years to 12,000 or 13,000. The job numbers peak in July between 20,000 and 21,000.
Because processing takes place as close to the harvest as possible, remote worksites with no local workforce are common. Some processors hire workers from around Alaska, but most of their employees are from out of state or are foreign workers under the H-2 visa program. For every Alaskan working in the plants, processing companies import three from outside the state.