Boat Haulout
Dear Editor: This letter was written to the members of the Assembly.
Tonight the Assembly will considers an ordinance that will allow the voters to decide whether Sitka should invest funds from sale of the community hospital in construction of a haulout/boatyard. I wanted to share a few thoughts on that decision.
Sitka has the largest harbor system and commercial fishing fleet in Alaska. Sitka consistently ranks in the top 10 ports NATION-WIDE in value of seafood delivered, with that value regularly exceeding $70 million. In 2020, Sitka received over $620,000 through the municipal tax-sharing program from Sitka fisheries landings and business taxes. Sitka’s commercial fishermen also support the NSRAA hatchery, which produces $12 million worth of salmon every year enjoyed by subsistence, sport, and commercial fishermen. Approximately 1,080 people work to process commercial fish delivered to Sitka and 750 Sitka-based vessel owners and deckhands participate year-round in regional fisheries. The support sector (welders, machinists, shipwrights, mechanics, electronics technicians, canvas workers, marine supply and hardware store workers, etc.) add significantly to the fisheries-related workforce and to Sitka’s economic base. Per the McDowell Report: virtually every business in the Sitka community benefits from commercial fishing dollars.
All this business rests on the ability of Sitka fishermen to maintain their boats here in Sitka. Every responsible boat owner hauls their boat once per year to perform maintenance, with less frequent but longer shipyard time for repairs and upgrades. Fishermen will eventually choose to homeport their boats in another town, deliver their fish to another town, and spend money in other towns if Sitka cannot provide the haulout services the fleet needs. In short – Sitka depends on the fishing fleet and the fleet depends on a local boatyard. Sitka needs a boatyard.
Investing in a haulout/boatyard makes both immediate and long-term economic sense for the community of Sitka. Local investment that generates local services, economic activity, jobs, and sales tax are immediate benefits. Diversifying Sitka’s “permanent fund” investment to include a boatyard also builds long-term resilience into the community’s investment portfolio even as it builds community health with high paying year-round fishing and support sector jobs.
The boatyard will generate the economic activity that repays the permanent fund – all while providing local jobs, living wages, a diversified economy, and increased community assets.
Sitka fishermen, marine professionals and our association are committed to the success of the Sitka boatyard. We have raised $1.4 million from fishermen contributions, grants, and program related investment.
The Sitka Community Boatyard group has donated over 1,000 hours to researching, planning, grant writing, engineering, and brainstorming strategies to secure the capital Sitka needs for this project. Although we cannot raise all the capital on our own for this community asset, we look forward to working with GPIP and the city toward our shared goal of securing the boatyard Sitka needs. Thank you,
Linda Behnken, Executive Director,
Alaska Longline
Fishermen’s Association
