Alaska natural resources: reaching the world: Alaska's natural assets add to state's sustainability.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa

Alaska is a state rich in natural resources. From its waters teeming with salmon, halibut and shellfish, to its vast acres of wilderness filled with old-growth forest, to its world-class deposits of minerals beneath the soil, the 49th state has for years been providing its people with the raw materials they need to create a sustainable economy.

As times and markets change, it is important that Alaska be able to both protect these natural assets and to promote their use outside of the state's borders. To this end, an effort is being made by the state and by those who make a living from fishing, timber and coal to work together to ensure that Alaska's natural resources are both well managed and well marketed.

RICHES FROM THE WATER

Alaska is known for its fishing-not only by the tourists who travel thousands of miles to enjoy fighting a king salmon, but also by consumers worldwide who buy Alaska fish off the shelves of their local stores.

According to An Overview of Alaska's Natural Assets, published in 1998 by the University of Alaska's Institute of Social and Economic Research, more than half of U.S. seafood production comes from Alaska waters, and this doesn't take into account the demand from international markets. While the exact number of fish and shellfish harvested is not known, average annual commercial fish harvests between 1991 and 1996 show 3.7 billion pounds of groundfish taken from Alaska waters, as well as 838 million pounds of salmon, 238 million pounds of shellfish, 62 million pounds of herring and 44 million pounds of halibut.

"Fishing has a real impact in Alaska; seafood is estimated to add between $2.5 billion and $3 billion to our gross state product," explained Glenn Haight, fisheries development specialist, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. "But even this number doesn't really capture the importance of fishing to our communities. On a local level-in Bristol Bay, for example-fishing provides upward of 70 percent to 80 percent of their economic base."

According to an Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development study cited in the Alaska Economic Performance Report 2004, in 2002, the fish harvesting industry provided a monthly average of 6,510 jobs statewide, which makes up about 3 percent of all private-sector jobs. Though fish processing jobs underwent an eight-year decline from 1995 to 2002, in 2003 that trend finally reversed, providing 8,000 jobs in 2003 and 8,125 in 2004.

Last year, the Alaska seafood harvest was the best reported since 1999, with salmon reaching a total harvest value of $235 million and halibut with a total harvest value of $168 million. This was a 3 percent increase in halibut prices over 2003, and a 168 percent value increase since 1998. The 2004 value paid to fishermen in the ground fish industry was estimated to be $446 million, up 36 percent since 2002.

"Certain species of fish have earned a fantastic price, better...