OUR WORK
Seafood Distribution Network
Since March 2020, Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT) and Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association (ALFA) have provided over 650,000 meals of seafood, free of charge, to thousands of individuals/families, including children’s programs, food pantries, women’s shelters, tribal organizations, and much more. We, along with many partners, have donated over 400,000 lbs of seafood to rural communities as well as military members and tribal organizations throughout the state and in the Pacific Northwest.
SeaBank
ASFT's program, SeaBank, was created to tell the story of Southeast Alaska's ways of life. For the communities of Alaska’s Panhandle, this great natural ecosystem functions as a richly endowed bank, providing natural capital that is essential to the regional economy. SeaBank is a diverse nexus of individuals, scientists, organizations, and businesses that wish to share the untold story of Southeast Alaska’s ecological wealth and promote the region’s natural products that support the livelihoods of our communities.
Local Fish Fund
The Local Fish Fund, an ongoing project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, helps overcome barriers to entry by providing the cash and administering the loans that young fishermen need to acquire initial ownership of access rights. It is designed to improve local retention of economic benefits from Alaska fisheries by facilitating transactions between established fishermen, emerging fishermen, and socially responsible investors.
Young Fisherman’s Initiative
With ALFA's partnership, The Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust is committed to helping the next generation of fishermen and ensuring residents of Alaska’s coastal communities have access to our fisheries. Through a number of programs, we are helping the next generation of commercial fishermen launch and support viable commercial fishing businesses.
For more information on Young Fisherman’s Initiative programs click here.
Fishery Conservation Network
In 2009, The Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT) and Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) partnered to launch a Fishery Conservation Network (FCN). The FCN engages stakeholders in resource stewardship, collaborative research, and innovative programs that support ecosystem and coastal community health. FCN projects are science-based and share triple bottom line objectives. In 2016, the FCN focused on seven collaborative projects. In total, these projects engaged 100 fishermen working on 70 vessels to collaborate with 19 scientists and engineers from 13 agencies, leveraging approximately $900,000 and more than 1,000 in-kind donated sea days by ALFA members to address common challenges.
Visit The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association for more information on the Fishery Conservation Network.
Alaska Roadless Rule
The Roadless Rule protects over 9 million acres in southeast Alaska from clearcutting and timber road construction, creating space for the region’s fish and wildlife for the benefit of the species themselves and sustainable human uses such as wildlife viewing, recreation and commercial, sport and subsistence fishing. The State of Alaska petitioned the Forest Service to remove Roadless Rule protections in order to increase the amount of acreage available for old-growth clearcutting by two federal timber sale purchasers. Thousands of fishermen, southeast Alaska residents, and Americans provided individual comments on the Roadless Rule. Nearly all commenters requested that the Forest Service take no action on the rulemaking and leave the Roadless Rule in place in the region.
Fishermen’s Expo
The Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT) and The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) banded together to host the first-ever Fishermen's Expo in 2016, which offered workshops on topics such as fuel efficiency, fishing for sablefish using pot gear, and reducing sperm whale depredation on longline gear. Since then, the expo has evolved to focus especially on young people and those who are new to the industry by offering workshops focusing on business skills, beginner's courses in seafloor mapping, and safety courses. ALFA works hard to keep fishermen in the know about the policies that affect them and innovations that can help them to use best practices and fish more effectively.
Visit The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association for more information on the next Fishermen’s Expo.
