Gone processing – The price of progress?
As you read this, work is continuing in Bellingham, Wash., on a $40 million, federally financed, salmon-processing barge some think could revolutionize the Alaska fishing business. “Our refrigeration system freezes fish whole at temperatures colder than anyone in the industry, increasing both quality and shelf life,” says U.S. Department of Agriculture financed Northline Seafoods. “With a cargo storage capacity of over 14 million pounds of frozen product, our barge carries Bristol Bay salmon to Western Washington where it can be processed to our customers’ specifications in the fall, winter, and spring.” Northline CEO Ben Blakey has pitched the operation as a way to eliminate “large, shore-based processing facilities that are operated in brief, expensive seasonal periods. Salmon often spend multiple days in transit before being delivered to the processing facilities. High shipping costs outweigh the market value of salmon byproducts, and facilities may dump up to 30 percent of salmon weight back into the ocean ecosystem as waste.” more, >>click to read<< 20:51
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