Hawaii’s commercial fishing industry is fetching high values for its catches even though the overall volume is relatively low compared with other states.
The industry in Hawaii generated $867 million in sales in 2016 and added nearly 10,000 jobs.
That compares with $1.2 billion in sales in Oregon, $3.9 billion in Alaska and $22.8 billion in California, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Economics of the United States report, one of two reports released Thursday measuring the health of U.S. fisheries. Commercial sales for the entire U.S. totaled $144.3 billion, up by about $100 million from the previous year, with the value of species including Alaska pollock and Pacific salmon down from the previous year.
Honolulu was among the nation’s top-producing ports last year by value of the fish caught with 34 million pounds worth $104 million, a slight drop from the wholesale value of $106 million in 2016, according to a separate NOAA 2017 report released the same day, Fisheries of the United States. The highest volume was in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, at 769 million pounds, while the highest value was in New Bedford, Mass., at $389 million.
“Honolulu is a major commercial port in the nation, and fish in particular is the largest food product in Hawaii now,” said Michael Tosatto, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands regional administrator. “Pineapple and sugar are gone, so with 80 percent of the fish that’s caught remaining in the state, it’s important to our community’s food security.”
Only about 20 percent of the fish caught in Hawaii is exported to the mainland, and less than 1 percent goes overseas.
Nationally, consumption of fish and shellfish rose by 1.1 pounds, to 16 pounds, per person in 2017.
U.S. fisheries continued to be an important contributor to the economy in states including Hawaii, with commercial fishing adding nearly 1.2 million jobs nationwide, according to NOAA.
“We have relatively low-volume, high-value fisheries in the state of Hawaii. Because of the fish that are dominant in fisheries in Hawaii — tuna and tunalike species — they’re of higher value than something like pollock,” said Sean Martin, president of the Hawaii Longline Association. “The bottom fish are of high value here, too, predominantly because of the way they’re caught by hook and line.”
The state doesn’t have big-net fisheries. Each fish is handled individually, rather than in bulk, so the value is higher, he said.
“We maintain our consistency in producing food for the people of the state as well as the visitor industry,” Martin said. “We’re a very important component of the visitor and local communities. When visitors visit Hawaii, seafood is most likely going to be a part of their experience. We’re happy we can contribute to that with some of the finest seafood available.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.