About the Fishery Industrial Technology Center

aerial view of the FITC building in Kodiak, Alaska

Located in Kodiak, Alaska, at the center of Alaska's fishing industry, Fish Tech is housed in a 20,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art research facility built on Near Island in 1991. Fish Tech is a key component in the efforts of the School of Fisheries & Ocean Sciences (UAF) to ensure long-term productivity of Alaska's ocean resources. more pictures >

Mission Statement

To increase the value of Alaska's fishing industry and marine resources through research, technological development, education and service.

FITC has two major academic programs, Sustainable Harvesting and Seafood
Processing. We direct our programmatic efforts across five major research and service areas: harvesting technology, processing technology, seafood quality and safety, contaminants and collaborative ecosystems research directed towards building the prudent and sustainable utilization of Alaska' s fisheries resources.

The enabling legislation creating the Fishery Industrial Technology Center (FITC) provided for the establishment of a Fishery Industrial Technology Center Policy Council to guide and advise us on the kinds of problems facing coastal Communities and the Alaska Seafood Industry, and to review our programs. Our Policy Council meets twice yearly and reviews our Strategic Plan every 2 years, on alternate years our faculty reviews it. Goals that have been achieved are removed from the plan and new goals are discussed and then prioritized by each group in turn. The Policy Council and the Faculty also prioritize the position descriptions for new hires. Using the opportunity of the UAF Reaccreditation Process and its Self-Assessment, our faculty just completed reviewing our strategic plan and our curriculum and our Policy Council accepted the changes.

Another important source of information for planning and appraisal of our efforts also comes from the UAF - School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Advisory Council. The strongly applied nature and equally strong service orientation to the programs at FITC stand in contrast with many other units within SFOS. Therefore, with the assistance of the SFOS Advisory Council, FITC brings its more applied focus to the basic research orientation of most of the units within SFOS. The combination of a dedicated FITC Policy Council and an active SFOS Advisory Council reviewing our efforts, both in terms of planning and outcomes, greatly assists us in sharpening our focus for planning and improvement. However, it is important to note that our solicitation of input dies not stop at this level. We are in frequent contact with a wide variety of enterprises across the state and the nation regarding fisheries and seafood issues. Within Alaska we already work closely with the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, and others to identify the research, educational and service needs of Alaskans.
The UAF - Fishery Industrial Technology Center (Fish Tech Center) has grown steadily since its creation by an act of the Alaska State Legislature in 1981. A unit of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fish Tech is one of six divisions of the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (SFOS).

Legislative creation of FITC

The enabling legislation is codified in Alaska Statutes, Title 16: Fish and Game, Chapter 52: Fishery Industrial Technology Center AS 16.52.010-070. Briefly, the legislation creates the Fishery Industrial Technology Center, in Kodiak, Alaska, as part of the University of Alaska. The duties of the Fish Tech Center are enumerated as follows:

  1. Providing training opportunities to citizens of the state on the most efficient and appropriate technologies for the harvesting, processing, and conservation of the fishery resources of the state;
  2. Providing information and technical assistance on the adaptation of existing and new technologies to the users of the fishery resources of the state;
  3. Providing research and development activities to adapt existing technologies to enhance the economic viability of the industry;
  4. Providing research and development activities to create new technologies that will enhance the effectiveness of the industry, and provide economic benefits to state citizens; and
  5. Encouraging joint projects between industry and government in order to use industrial experience and government programs to enhance the productivity of the industry.

The legislation also provides for the establishment of the Fishery Industrial Technology Policy Council to provide program and planning guidance to the Center. The Policy Council is to be composed of members of Alaska's Seafood Industry who are appointed by the President of the University of Alaska. Two members should be appointed from the Alaska Seafood Processing sector; representing, insofar as possible, diverse processing operations in Alaska. Two members should be appointed from the Alaska Seafood Harvesting sector, who are actively engaged in commercial fishing in Alaska and, insofar as possible, representing diverse fisheries resource users. Three members should be appointed from the public sector in Alaska. Other requirements include that members of the Policy Council serve a term of two years, members should represent, insofar as possible, the geographic regions of Alaska and at least five members of the Policy Council shall be residents of the state.

Fishery Industrial Technology Center Policy Council Bylaws (Amended Mar. 14, 1996)

Council Organization

The Fishery Industrial Technology Center was established (Sec. 16.12.020) to:

The Fishery Industrial Technology Center Policy Council:

1. Charge

The Fishery Industrial Technology Center Policy Council is appointed by the President of the University of Alaska and charged with providing the Center with program and planning guidance (Sec. 16.12.030). It will be the responsibility of the Policy Council Chair to report back to the President of the Center's progress on an annual basis.

  1. 2. Members

    (i). Sec. 16.12.030 of the Alaska Statutes states that the Council will consist of seven members, appointed by the President of the University of Alaska. Two members will be appointed from the processing sector, two from the harvesting sector, and three from the public sector. At least five members will be Alaska residents. Each member will be appointed for a two-year term.
    (ii). It is the responsibility of the Director of FITC to inform the President of the University, through the Dean of SFOS and the Chancellor of UAF, of any vacancies in the Policy Council. Unexpired terms will be filled at the earliest opportunity. Nominations for these unexpired terms will proceed according to the rules as for regular memberships on the Policy Council.
    (iii). The FITC Policy Council invites the Alaska Governor to appoint an ex-officio (non-voting) member to the Policy Council. The term of this member is the same as the Governor's elected term. The Policy Council also invites the Alaska Senate and the Alaska House of Representatives to each appoint one of their members or their representatives to sit as ex-officio members of the FITC Policy Council. The terms of these members, or their representatives, will be the same as the members elected terms.
    3. Geographic Representation: Those Council members who are Alaskan residents, to the greatest extent possible, shall be representative of the various geographic areas of state.
    4. Center's Director: The Center's Director is an ex-officio non-voting member of the Council.
    5. Compensation: Each Council member will be compensated for actual transportation and University per diem for attending Policy Council meetings or for other purposes approved by the Council's Chair.
    6. Officers: The officers of the Council will consist of a Chair and Vice-Chair. The Center's Director will act as executive secretary of the Council. Officers will be elected by a simple majority and serve for two years. They may be removed by simple majority. If an office is vacated it will be filled immediately at the same or next meeting and the new individual serve the remainder of the office's term.
    7. Committees: Four permanent committees of three members each are established by the Policy Council. At least one Council member will be on each committee. They will act as focal points and recommend to the Council appropriate actions. These committees are: problems in industrial processing, problems in harvesting, education, and research. Special ad hoc committees may be formed as warranted. The Center Director, or their designee, will act as an ex-officio member of each committee. Members appointed to committees will serve for two years, their terms expiring concurrently with terms of other members. Committee meetings will be held prior to and conducted in a similar manner to Council meetings
    8. Meetings: Regular Policy Council meetings will be held two times per year or as the need arises. A quorum is 4, passing any items under consideration for adoption by less than the full Policy Council requires 4 votes in favor.
    9. Duties:
    (i). Chair - The Chair shall preside at all Council meetings and appoint committee members and their Chairs. The Chair shall perform other duties as may be necessary for the function of the Council.
    (ii). Vice-Chair - In case of the Chair's absence for any reason or resignation, the Vice-Chair will perform all duties of the Chair until his return or replacement.
    (iii). Executive Secretary: The Center Director, as executive secretary of the Council, will assist the Chair in establishing Council and committee meetings, prepare minutes of meetings, prepare notification of meetings, prepare a balance sheet showing expenditures to date at each Council meeting, brief new appointees as to the Center's past activities and purposes and generally orient the new appointee. Other duties will be as prescribed by the Council.
    10. Voting: All full Council members will have one vote.

II. Duties of the council

A. The Policy Council will provide the Center's staff with assistance and advice on the priorities and critical issues facing the industry as industry experts. This information will be in aid of the development and continuation of the Center's education, training, and research activities. The assistance and advice will be done through formal and informal mechanisms and every effort should be made by Council members to represent all interested industry people. Any new critical issues and new research directions at FITC, pertinent to the fishing industry, will be reviewed by the Policy Council as to feasibility, practicality, and industry needs. Council members will pursue further cooperation between FITC, the industry, and the State of Alaska.
B. At least one meeting per year will be held with the Center's staff in group discussion sessions to examine past activities and potential new directions.
C. One member of the Policy Council will serve on SFOS search committee for new directors of FITC.
D. At each meeting of the Policy Council, the FITC director will provide a regular program report. This is a required part of the Policy Council meeting agenda. The program report will include a review of efforts in the research, instruction, and service missions of the FITC. Additional reviews will cover advances in communication, partnerships, and funding opportunities.

Fishery Industrial Technology Center Policy Council Members 2006

Sector Name Affiliation Resident Region
Public Frank Hill National Science Foundation, Alaska Federation of Natives Yes Western AK
Processor Chuck Jensen Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Inc. Yes Western AK
Governor's Office unfilled n/a Yes Statewide
Public Chris Mitchell (Chair) Seafood Market Developers No Seattle
Public Jeff Stephan United Fishermen's Marketing Association Yes Kodiak
Harvester Jay Stinson (Vice-Chair) Alaska Draggers Association Yes Kodiak
  Heather McCarty McCarty & Associates    
Harvester Dean Adams F/V Quest Incorporated No Seattle

The current Chair of the Fishery Industrial Technology Center Policy Council is Mr. Jay Stinson. The current Vice Chair is Ms. Heather McCarty.

Alaska's commercial fishing industry: Alaska accounts for more than 60% of the continental shelf area and more than half the shoreline of the entire United States. Alaska's share of wild fish harvested for human food is about 75% of the US total, worth upwards of $3.0 billion annually. The mission of the Fishery Industrial Technology Center (Fish Tech) is to increase the value of Alaska's fishing industry through research, education and technology development. Created by the Alaska Legislature in 1981, Fish Tech works with the industry to develop new solutions to industry's problems. We direct our efforts in five areas: seafood harvesting technology, seafood processing technology, seafood quality and safety, contaminants, and collaborative ecosystems research. Located in Kodiak, Alaska, at the center of Alaska's fishing industry, Fish Tech is housed in a 20,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility built on Near Island in 1991. Fish Tech is a key component in the efforts of the School of Fisheries & Ocean Sciences (UAF) to ensure long-term productivity of Alaska's ocean resources.

Of greater interest in the past couple of years have been our efforts in developing more cogent fisheries oceanography of Alaskan waters. The fauna in waters around Kodiak Island have undergone remarkable shifts over time. Harvest records indicate a harvest of about 100,000 metric tons (mt) per year of the major commercial species. The nature of harvested species cycles with a roughly decadal period. At the end of the cycle, the regime shifts and a different commercial species or species assemblage characterizes subsequent harvests. In the 1970s, harvesters took about 100,000 mt. per year of crustaceans from these waters but since the 1980s, the 100,000 mt annual catch has been groundfish, mainly pollock in the 1980s and Pacific cod or flatfish in the '90s.