Alaska’s Fish
Dear Editor: I was discouraged to read Don Young’s misrepresentation of President Trump’s trade policies (Sentinel, Aug. 1.)
So, here is what’s really happening in Alaska under Trump economics. This from Laine Welch’s ‘‘Fish Factor’’ column in the August 2018 National Fisherman:
‘‘Russia, which had grown from a $10 million customer of primarily pink salmon roe to $60 million in 2013, has banned all imports of U.S. seafood since 2014. Meanwhile, that country continues to send millions of tons of salmon and other seafood into the states. NMFS 2017 trade data shows that Russia sent nearly 4 million pounds of frozen sockeye salmon to the United States, valued at just over $13 million, a $2 million increase over the previous year.
Alaska’s salmon forecast for 2018 calls for a harvest of 149 million fish, down 34 percent from last year.’’ – Laine Welch
And, China has imposed a 25 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. seafood.
Sigurd Rutter, Sitka
