Fishing & Energy Resilience in Southeast Alaska: How Do We Adapt?

Sitka is in the midst of a multi-year effort to develop a comprehensive adaptation plan centered on its fishing community. The project is being led locally by Linda Behnken and Natalie Sattler of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association and the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust. The two Sitka-based organizations frequently collaborate to strengthen fisheries and fishing communities through research, education, economic opportunity, and community engagement.

A similar effort is underway in the fishing communities of Cordova and Kodiak, with the three communities regularly sharing what they are learning. Social scientists at NOAA Fisheries are guiding and supporting the cross-regional planning.

Adaptation planning focuses on the rapid environmental and ecological changes – driven by warming oceans – that are disrupting fisheries and marine ecosystems that residents depend on.

But, as Marysia Szymkowiak, NOAA Fisheries lead on the project, noted in February 2025, “Climate change is a catalyst for conversations about resilience that communities need to have in the face of multiple stressors.” Over the past decade fishing communities have experienced stressors that include: COVID impacts on markets and operational costs, shifts in global seafood markets that plummeted prices and closed processors in Alaska, and continued inflationary pressures on the costs of living and operating a fishing business.

Sitka and the wider community recently completed a multi-stage vulnerability assessment that identified concerns about ecological variability across Sitka’s diversified fishing arena, plus an ever-increasing strain on fishermen’s mental and physical well-being.

Other high level concerns are: increasing operational costs, decreasing prices for fish, aging fisheries infrastructure and dwindling support services, dependence on barge provision of basic goods (food, fuel, diverse materials), and issues with global supply chains. Additionally, there are increasing storms that make fishing more dangerous, and an aging and declining population that limits options for a local labor force and strains food-sharing networks.

“Fisheries Adaptation Planning: Developing Networks to Promote Resilience” was a workshop held on February 25, 2025 in Sitka and virtually conferenced with other communities. At the workshop, a variety of stakeholders, including fishermen, marine tradesmen, scientists, teachers and students, met to discuss the vulnerabilities, strengths, risks and potential strategies for resilience.

Conference organizers Linda Behnken, Natalie Sattler and Marysia Szymkowiak highlighted the work that ASFT and ALFA are leading to increase community resilience, and highlighted the value of both local and regional partnerships. “This effort will literally take a village,” said Behnken. The planning process will continue with more sessions/events in 2025, as will implementation of identified resilience strategies.

The February 25th workshop focused on three resilience areas – energy, workforce development, and fisheries access. Below are some key points identified under each topic.

Energy

ALFA and ASFT are working to increase the seafood sector’s fuel efficiency and to support transition to renewable, locally produced energy through hybrid commercial fishing boat conversions and energy recapture projects. These projects will reduce the sector’s carbon footprint and reduce operating costs. Since Sitka’s electricity is hydro-generated, electrifying the local fleet makes sense.

Gaining local experience with new technology is another important part of energy resilience, with a role which Ben Matthys (of Kempy Energetics and Southeast Sparks) intends to play. In November 2025, ALFA will have experts available in Sitka to commission a hybrid system and train people in the new technology. “There needs to be a lot of local learning as we advance with these new technologies,” said Matthys during the February workshop.

Both seafood and mariculture sectors are also eyeing solar and tidal energy potential, recognizing that Sitka’s hydropower has limits. And all fishermen present were interested in ALFA’s fuel efficiency handouts, which provide proven tips for reducing fuel use. Skipper Jim Moore, in particular, noted that “learning how to save energy also saves me money and communicating this stuff is vital.”

Others skippers spoke about “taking advantage of wind and existing currents to maximize fuel efficiency” or commented on how the fuel flow meters (that ALFA has helped install on fishing boats to provide real-time feedback on fuel consumption) helped them understand energy tradeoffs and reduce their fuel consumption. Behnken noted, “shutting off hydraulics when they are not in use, reducing speed, and keeping the bottom of the boat clean can save fishermen a lot at the fuel dock.’”

Workforce Development

Emily Scott (former ALFA-sponsored crew apprentice who is now on ALFA staff) said, “a lot of young people are interested in fishing but many don’t know how to get started. ALFA’s crew training program gave me a safe way to enter the fishing workforce, and fishing is still an important part of my year and annual income.” Eric Jordan, a founding skipper of the crew training program, said he has hosted over 100 first-time crewmembers on his boat and that he is proud to be part of the program. “Some of the young people make fishing their career, some fish part time while working in a marine-related industry, but all of them become ambassadors for our fisheries and oceans, and to me that is really exciting,” said Jordan. He referenced ALFA’s crew training website (alfa.org/training), and talked about sharing his love of fishing with his crew.

Terry Perensovich, a shipwright and fisherman attending the workshop, pointed out: “There are lots of workforce opportunities besides fishing: boat building, boat repair, learning how to weld or do fiberglass work, fisheries enhancement, habitat protection – all of these are potential workforce opportunities– and Sitka’s new boatyard can provide the perfect place for that skill development.” Members of the workshop agreed that working waterfront infrastructure (such as Sitka’s new boatyard) provides critical services to the fleet, plus essential opportunities for workforce development and year-round employment, all key to fishing community resilience.

ALFA wants to build the pool of skilled local workers and Behnken asked: “How do we get more Alaskans and more local people interested in marine trades and commercial fishing?” Terry Perensovich responded, “For kids growing up here, they often do not appreciate the opportunity right in front of them. Then someone from out of town goes fishing and shares the excitement – and then they get interested. Having programs to nurture that interest provides the path to a new career.”

UAS faculty member Sarah Ebersoll expressed a strong interest in collaborating with ALFA and ASFT on marine trades and workforce development. Sarah noted the potential for the ALFA’s crew-training program to fulfill the internship or work requirement for their marine trades curriculum, allowing students to earn both academic and work credit. Sarah noted that building the workforce for mariculture, fishing, and marine trades is key to Sitka’s social and economic resilience, and is even more important for the nearby rural villages.

Fisheries Access

Workshop attendees noted that access to fisheries is a critical component of regional resilience. In the past, fishermen built resilience into their businesses by diversifying into multiple fisheries; now moving between fisheries is cost-prohibitive and fishermen are less diversified. ASFT is trying to change that by anchoring access to local fisheries in coastal communities, explained ASFT staff Lauren Howard. “Community residents told us they want to fish halibut but right now they cannot afford to participate,” said Howard. “We are working with Tribal and Native corporation partners to change that.”

For Alaska Native residents, halibut is culturally important and a species they have depended on since time immemorial. Halibut can also be fished close to coastal villages and accessed with a small skiff or boat. “As all species become more volatile under climate change pressures, community residents need flexibility and the opportunity to shift their harvesting focus to whatever species is currently abundant,” Howard added. “That is good for the resource, good for the community, and good for the fishermen. It is also fundamental to resilience.”

Keeping fishing local also contributes to food security in both hub and remote fishing communities where supply chains can be disrupted and all non-local food is expensive. ALFA and ASFT are working to bring fisheries access back to local residents, and to provide the fish these residents catch to local, regional, and national networks where consumers value that seafood. “This is an often overlooked aspect of fisheries access,” said Behnken. “Who gets to go fishing matters, but so does who gets to eat the fish a local fisherman harvests.” ALFA and ASFT operate a community supported fishery called Alaskans Own Seafood that provides both subscription and direct-to-consumer deliveries to customers who want premium seafood and want to support this important work.

“Fishermen have always been resilient and adaptable, but the increased volatility associated with warmer and more acidic oceans layered onto what was already a challenging livelihood calls for new strategies to build resilience and foster success,” said Behnken. “We will work with fishermen and fishing communities to problem solve, adapt, and innovate while continuing to work to address the underlying causes of climate change.”

Learn more about the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust at thealaskatrust.org.