The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) has received USD 5 million (EUR 4.6 million) in federal funding, alleviating financial concerns after it lost out on twice that amount in state dollars.
ASMI was snubbed by Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, who vetoed a bill on 4 July that would have provided the seafood promotional group with USD 10 million (EUR 9.2 million) in state funding.
On 9 July, ASMI received USD 4 million (EUR 3.7 million) in U.S. Department of Agriculture Regional Agricultural Promotion Program funding and two USD 500,000 (EUR 460,000) Saltonstall-Kenedy grants.
“ASMI will use the RAPP funds to diversify and improve overseas markets for Alaska seafood, while the S-K grants are to be used to develop and market an Alaska Seafood pet food brand and increase the utilization and value of Alaska seafood through side-stream production, reshoring of value-added processing, and neutral storage facilities,” ASMI said in a press release. “These efforts support ASMI’s mission to increase the economic value of the Alaska seafood resource.”
The Regional Agricultural Promotion Program is designed to encourage exports and market diversification for American agricultural commodities and products. ASMI said it will use the funding to expand its promotional work in Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa, as well as supplementing existing efforts in Japan, the U.K., and parts of Eastern Europe, as well as executing a feasibility study the feasibility of exporting Alaska seafood to India.
“The additional funds and grants are extremely welcome as the Alaska seafood industry seeks to emerge from the current global market collapse that has put incredible financial pressure on Alaska fishermen, fishing families, processors, and seafood businesses,” ASMI Executive Director Jeremy Woodrow said. “The timing of the RAPP funds is well-aligned with the Alaska seafood industry’s needs to combat numerous global economic pressures. While these funds will help ASMI grow our international efforts, they will also allow us to shift our other limited fund sources toward the U.S. market, where consumer demand for seafood has fallen dramatically and is sorely in need of marketing support.”
The Saltonstall-Kennedy grants were awarded through a competitive process run by NOAA Fisheries. Projects must demonstrate direct benefits to U.S. fisheries and meaningful participation of fishing communities.
One of ASMI’s grants will go toward expanding the use of Alaska seafood in the pet food market, which ASMI’s board of directors identified as having strong potential in 2022.
“While U.S. pet food manufacturers purchased USD 893 million [EUR 822 million] in fisheries products for use in cat and dog food in 2022, total agricultural products purchased by the sector were USD 6.9 billion [EUR 6.4 billion],” ASMI said.
The other grant will be used on a study of value-added seafood products being made in Iceland to see whether similar products and processes can be used to enhance the value of Alaskan seafood. The project may have the additional benefit of bringing reshoring some processing of Alaskan seafood back to the U.S.
“Existing reports and information are insufficient for most industry members to determine what products they could produce, what challenges (and relevant solutions) may exist, and how best to implement them,” ASMI said.
The ASMI grants reveal a recent move to reposition the S-K Grant Program toward more direct support of the U.S. seafood industry.
"Within the funds provided, the Committee encourages NOAA to prioritize support for applications that improve marketing and development of the seafood industry, as was the original intent of the S-K Grant Program," the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee report released 25 July said.
More funding may be on the way for ASMI.
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has set aside USD 3 million (EUR 2.8 million) for ASMI to promote wild-caught Alaska seafood in the Senate Appropriations Committee's Department of Commerce spending legislation, which the committee released 25 July. The legislation next needs to be voted on by the full Senate to move the effort foward.
