Nov. 21, 3:30pm PST
Vigor CEO: Shipbuilding industry seeing new blood
"This is an industry that has been in historical decline for 60 years," Vigor President and CEO Frank Foti said during his Thursday keynote address on the shipbuilding sector. "Not 10, not 20. Sixty."
He said the government's lack of injecting money into the industrial marine sector -- unlike other countries-- is partly to blame. Although the United States shipbuilding and repair industry is a $20 billion industry, with 317 shipyards in 27 states and more than 400,000 jobs associated with shipbuilding, the industry is at a stalemate, he said.
Vigor as a company is faring slightly better -- the average age of a worker in the industry as a whole is 59, while the average age of a Vigor employee in the field is under 40. Foti said he can explain why.
"It's because of the investment we've made in education," he said, adding that the company partners with Portland Community College in the state of Oregon and South Seattle Community College in Washington state. "We're putting real money in and we're asking (the government) to join and they do."
He added that he is encouraged by the buzz of the show, which he said has grown exponentially since he began coming years ago.
"The sound you hear," he said of the din of the show floor. "Is the sound of the energy of the young people coming in."
--Avani Nadkarni
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Nov. 21, 1pm PST
Wrong forecast
The Bristol Bay salmon forecast for the upcoming season was being distributed at the Pacific Marine Expo -- but it's incorrect, said Paul Salamone of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.
"There's an error in it," he said, saying it will be resolved and re-issued next week.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Nov. 20, 2pm PST
West Coast/East Coast = Apples/Oranges?
Yes, according to Commercial Fishermen of America President Jimmy Ruhle, who said the West Coast shouldn't "take for granted" that it has seemingly always had an industry say in cooperative research with government and university scientists.
"You've got industry participation at every level," he said during a panel discussion of cooperative research. "And you always have."
The full story can be found here..
--Avani Nadkarni
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Nov. 20, 12pm PST
Bristol Bay, new Hollywood star?
Bristol Bay may be the star of another television show, according to outdoor television host Jim Burnworth.
Burnworth said the show, which would feature fishermen in the area and the fishery in general, has the interest of two major networks and a filming crew is currently scouting for talent and shooting some B roll.
"We feel like [the show] is going to help everyone in the bay," he told IntraFish. "It's the story of the fishery. There's no other fishery in the world like it."
--Avani Nadkarni
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Nov. 20, 12pm PST
Naknek 'is like the Vegas strip'
Alaska-based salmon processor Extreme Seafoods is building a new plant in Naknek -- or as outdoor television host Jim Burnworth called it "the Vegas strip" of Alaska.
The new plant, opening June 2014, will process all salmon species, although the company specializes in sockeye, Burnworth told IntraFish.
Claiming to be one of the "one of the only processors to stay open early and late," from June to late August, Burnworth, who was manning the Extreme Seafoods booth, said "we may not be the biggest, but we are mighty."
He wouldn't say the exact sales figures for the company, but said it was in the $50 million range.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Nov. 20, 10:50am PST
Pebble Mine talk cancelled
A panel titled "Pebble Mine: A Status Update" to be held on Wednesday at the Pacific Marine Expo was cancelled, because the main speaker was unable to make it, Commercial Fishermen of Bristol Bay's Ben Blakey told IntraFish.
Speaker Wayne Nastri, co-president of E4 Strategic Solutions, had to cancel last-minute and couldn't make the trek from California.
"We felt we couldn't speak to it in the expert way he could," Blakey said.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Nov. 20, 10:55am PST
Seattle's iconic Fishermen's Terminal turns 100
Fishermen's Terminal, a Seattle icon and home base to some of the largest fishing and seafood companies in North America, is celebrating its centennial in 2014.
"We're here for the same reason Fishermen's Terminal was built in 1914," the terminal's Ross Perry told IntraFish.
The terminal will host a celebration in late spring of next year.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Nov. 20, 10:15am PST
Petitioning to protect permanently
Brandi Worden and Ellie Humphries of Fish Basket Coalition were ready -- with salmon-
At the show, the coalition had petition letters for industry members to sign, as well as postcards to fill out and send to policy makers.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Nov.20, 10:20am PST
Marel makes 'substantial' improvements in technology
Marel is launching a demonstration at the show Thursday, Project Manager Robert Tice told IntraFish.
"We've made some substantial gains in technology," Tice said. "We think it's the future."
--Avani Nadkarni
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Nov. 20, 8:35 a.m. PST
Starting the show...
It's cold but sunny in the Emerald City as Seattle welcomes fishermen, equipment companies and seafood companies to the 2013 Pacific Marine Expo, which officially kicks off at 10 a.m. PST.
-- Avani Nadkarni
