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Dutch Harbor Remains Nation's Top Port For 21st Consecutive Year

Sarah Hansen/KUCB

 

For the 21st consecutive year, Dutch Harbor is America’s largest fishing port.

According to an annual National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report released Thursday, the Port of Dutch Harbor led the nation with 769 million pounds of seafood landed in 2017, worth $173 million.

 

That’s down $25 million and 1 million pounds from 2016.

 

 

Credit COURTESY OF NOAA FISHERIES

Much of Dutch Harbor’s haul was made up of pollock. According to NOAA’s Ned Cyr, pollock was also a significant fishery nationally.

“The nation’s largest commercial fishery, Alaska pollock, had near record landings of 3.4 billion pounds," Cyr said. "That's up around 1 percent from 2016 [and it's] valued at $413 million.”

 

Alongside Alaska pollock, the highest value species include salmon, crab, lobsters, shrimp, and scallops.

 

Overall Alaska was responsible for more than half of the nation’s seafood, about 6 billion pounds worth $1.8 billion. That’s an increase in both volume and value from the previous year.

Zoë Sobel reported for KUCB from 2016 until 2019. She returned to KUCB after a year living in Nepal and Malaysia as a Luce Scholar. She then returned to KUCB as a ProPublica reporter August of 2020 through August of 2021.
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