The succulent sounds of seafood: despite difficulties in the industry, the Alaska Symphony of Seafood celebrates all our fisheries have to offer.

• Author: Pilkington, Steve
• Position: Alaska This Month

For more than a decade, fisheries and seafood promoters have found an original venue for introducing Alaska's seafood to culinary experts, distributors and food writers around the country. The Alaska Symphony of Seafood has grown annually into a specialty event worthy of watching and tasting.

"This year we have tons of variety," said Val Motley, project manager for the Symphony of Seafood, which is organized and sponsored by the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation. Seafood producers who win in various categories are given further opportunities for exposure to nationwide customers. In the past few years, some important changes have been made in the contest to further promote the fruits of Alaska's waters to a much wider audience and to help support the industry.

Alaska's fisheries are an integral part of the state's economy. Preliminary estimates showed the commercial salmon harvest alone totaled 173.3 million fish, worth an estimated at $195 million. This year, state officials have worked to forge international and Pacific Rim business ties for seafood processors and sellers.

There are, however, continuing challenges to the growth and vitality of the state's commercial fisheries. In fact, some in the industry have been hit so hard by recent setbacks that Alaska commercial fishermen and seafood processing workers experiencing economic distress are in line receive up to $8 million in emergency federal job training assistance. The funds will come under a grant signed recently that awards up to $8 million in Workforce Investment Act funds to help Alaska's seafood processing workers and fishermen who can no longer earn a living in an industry adversely affected by foreign trade.

This is all the more reason for allowing seafood buyers, specialty customers and members of the culinary industry to see for themselves what Alaska's fisheries have to offer. This is where organizations such as the Alaska Fisheries Development...