The Aleutians.

• Author: Hill, Robin Mackey
• Position: Economic development and other information about the Aleutian Islands

All it took was a whirlwind tour of several Aleutian communities for Mary Rucker to understand the level of economic activity going on in an area bouyed by the fishing industry. "I'm amazed at the economic activity in the processing communities," says Rucker, program manager of the Buy Alaska program. "It's just a major, major industry in one of the smallest, most remote places in the world."

The industry harvests and processes hundreds of millions of dollars worth of seafood each year -- 510 million pounds in 1990 with an ex-vessel (wholesale) value of $126 million at the Port of Dutch Harbor alone; in the Aleutians East Borough, the ex-vessel value of fish landed in 1990 was just under $125 million.

Processing plants are a principal employer in the region. Unalaska's Dutch Harbor has three large, on-shore processing plants, four smaller plants and several floating operations. Large processing operations also are located in Akutan, Sand Point and King Cove.

Not surprisingly, harbor development, the establishment of local businesses to serve the various fishing fleets and the debate over the allocation of bottomfish to on-shore versus off-shore facilities are issues that concern the entire region, says Marideth Sandler, executive director of the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference (SWAMC), a non-profit, regional economic development organization based in Anchorage.

Increasing on-shore processing capacities, especially in communities like St. Paul and St. George, also are of concern, as is the need to help residents of these smaller communities cope with the influx of fishing crews and transient workers. "People think Anchorage is the economic hub of Alaska," says Sandler. "I think Anchorage is the service hub of Alaska, but I'm not sure it's the economic hub."

It was Sandler and SWAMC that organized the 1992 business opportunity trip for Rucker and other professionals. "When I took these people out they were completely unaware of the level of economic activity out there ... completely unaware of the service needs. It goes beyond surprised," says Sandler.

Nowhere is the pace more frantic than in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor. "It's one of those communities that if you don't get out of the way, you'll get run over," says Roger Porter, assistant city manager. "It's one of the busiest places I've seen. It exceeds the activity level during the pipeline. It attracts that type of person ... people who can see needs out here and, meet them."

Ann O'Hara, businesswoman, Chamber of Commerce president and sales rep for at least two other firms, has been busy since she arrived in Unalaska more than four years ago. "Everyone pretty well operates seven days a week and are on call 24 hours a day," says O'Hara. "You could definately characterize this as a Type A community."

Residents of Unalaska/Dutch Harbor are scambling to meet the needs of a community of about 3,400 year-round residents and several thousand transient workers who filter through town each year. Porter's convinced that those who find their entrepreneural niche can survive. "Just about any service you can think of, we need ... People here want to buy from local suppliers if there were local suppliers."

Therein lies Rucker's concern: To begin changing buying patterns that have historically linked the Aleutians with Seattle rather than with Anchorage and other Alaska suppliers. She's hoping that a study she's conducting -- including freight schedules and costs -- will cause all concerned to rethink their buying and selling patterns.

"Those of us out here would like to keep our business in Alaska, but Seattle knows we're here, Anchorage doesn't," says O'Hara. "There's many of us that would like to keep our money in Alaska for as long as possible if we can afford to."

History

The oldest known settlement in the Aleutians -- dating back some 8,000 years -- is off Nikolski on Anangula Island. The early inhabitants took to the waters in search of sea mammals and were, at least distantly, related to the people of Northern Japan and the Siberian Pacific Rim.

The Aleutians have always served as a crossroads -- a role they continue to play today -- and so served as the route by which the Russians discovered Alaska. Their history is sprinkled with varied and fascinating elements, including the landing of Vitus Bering in 1741, the arrival in 1758 of Russian fur hunters and the ensuing fur trade, the Russian war with the Aleuts, the arrival and extended visit of Capt. James Cook and the establishment in 1796 of a permanent Russian settlement on Unalaska.

Twelve years later a Russian Orthodox chapel was built at Unalaska, marking the beginning of a relationship between the church and the Aleut people that remains strong. By the 1820s life in the Aleutians was stabilizing -- although avalanches, famine, disease, volcanoes and the competition between fur companies for domination had taken their toll.

Surveying expeditions were particularly prevalent between 1852-1872 with visits by W.H. Dall and, later, the great naturalist John Muir.

The fur seal and sea otter trade became even more intense after the U.S. purchase of Alaska in 1867 and continued until an international treaty in 1911 banned sea otter hunting. At various times reindeer herding, sheep and cattle ranching and fox farming have also been tried on the Aleutians, each with varying degrees of success.

By the late 1800s Unalaska/Dutch Harbor was serving as an important port for Bering Sea fleets and as a supply base for gold stampeders headed to Nome and St. Michael. By 1910 it was even deemed rather cosmopolitan, though its population had dropped to just 281.

Caught up in the torment of World War II, Dutch Harbor became the staging ground for the U.S. defense of the North Pacific during the Aleutian campaign that eventually brought 96,000 men to Adak. The Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor in June 1942 and occupied Attu and Kiska islands. Natives living on Attu were eventually taken to Japan, while other Aleuts along the chain were held in internment camps in Southeast Alaska. Many who were taken from the islands never returned. At its peak, 96,000 men were stationed on Adak.

Seventy-six Americans died in...