January 5, 2022 — Since 1991, the weekly Fish Factor column has highlighted Alaska’s seafood industry with its annual Picks and Pans — a no holds barred look back at some of the year’s best and worst, and my choice for the year’s biggest fish story.
Here are the choices for 2021, in no particular order:
Most business potential — Seaweed mariculture. The market value of U.S. seaweed is pegged at $41 billion by 2031. Driving the demand is increased use in pharmaceuticals, health supplements, as a natural thickening agent and in animal feeds.
Best fish invention — Lightweight, collapsible slinky pots for catching black cod that solve the problem of whales stripping as much as 75 percent of the pricey fish from longline hooks.
Biggest fish booster — The pandemic continues to push record sales of all seafood with no end in sight. Pre-covid, most Americans only ate fish and shellfish at restaurants. Now they are buying seafood to cook at home. Online sales also have soared and are expected to grow.
Best fish fighters — Reps. Sarah Vance of Homer, Kevin McCabe of Big Lake, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins of Sitka. They’ve put partisan politics aside to protect Alaska’s fishery resources.
Best fish knowledge builders — Alaska Sea Grant