INTRODUCTION

The rapid rise of salmon netpen aquaculture (referred to as “aquaculture” or “salmon farming” in this chapter) has transformed global salmon markets. Since 1990, global farm salmon production has increased five-fold, and farms recently surpassed commercial fisheries as the largest source of marketed salmon (FAO 2003). Global salmon output, including fishery catch, has grown from less than 800 000 tonnes to more than 2 million tonnes during the past 15 years. Virtually all of the increase has come from farms. The global aquaculture industry, including salmon aquaculture, currently contributes over one-third of total world fish supplies (FAO 2003).

In this chapter we examine the growth in global farm salmon production and its economic consequences for fishermen in Alaska, where salmon netpen aquaculture is prohibited. Featured in this paper are the results of a survey of Alaskan salmon fishermen that we conducted in 2002–03. The survey results illustrate the economic impacts of the aquaculture industry on individual fishermen, the fishermen's adjustments to changing economic conditions in the fishery, and their views on the causes and possible solutions to the current “crisis.” We also describe how policy in Alaska has influenced the efficiency of fishing activities and discuss how the survey results might be used to inform the political debate on restructuring the state's salmon fishery.

BACKGROUND

Salmon netpen farming originated in Norway in the early 1970s and expanded into Scotland, Japan, Chile, Canada, and the United States in the 1980s (Anderson 1997).