Finance leaders in both the House and Senate said Jan. 18 they have no plans to fund marketing efforts this session, and that problems facing the salmon industry "are unlikely to be helped by an advertising campaign."

At the same time, a measure was filed to provide $6 million to boost Alaska's tourism industry, which is anticipating a big drop in bookings because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, offered an amendment to spend $1.2 million on tourism marketing and $1 million for salmon marketing. It failed. Gov. Tony Knowles proposed spending $10 million each to fund marketing campaigns for tourism and salmon.

"We have our work cut out for us," responded Rep. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, who expressed surprise at the move by Anchorage Republicans to dislodge salmon from state funding dollars. Stevens said that in his view, any marketing dollars must include tourism and seafood in tandem.

Stevens also introduced a bill that would put $12 million into the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute's budget over five years, $4 million the first year and $2 million for the following four years.

"People from fishing communities will demand equal amounts for salmon," Stevens said. The tug of war could all amount to nothing. The state faces a difficult budget deficit, and policymakers may decide against giving money to either industry.

Cotten to represent borough

The Aleutians East Borough has hired long-time Alaska commercial fisherman and former state legislator Sam Cotten as its chief resource analyst. Cotten will represent the region's commercial fishing interests before boards, commissions and other fisheries management bodies in his new position.

A lifelong Alaskan, Cotten spent a total of 16 years in the Legislature, including serving as speaker of the House. He also served as chairman of the Alaska Public Utilities Commission. He holds a lower Cook Inlet purse seine permit and has fished in several regions of the state. The Aleutians East Borough is home to the villages of False Pass, Nelson Lagoon, King Cove, Akutan and Sand Point.

Fish Caucus draws crowd

The first Fish Caucus was well attended, according to Ian Fisk of Kodiak Republican Sen. Alan Austerman's office.

"The caucus is directed at legislators not familiar with the fishing industry," Fisk said. The Juneau-based McDowell Group presented an overview of Alaska's seafood industry, pointing out that while Alaska salmon might be getting clobbered in world markets, the markets for nearly all of the other major fisheries, halibut, groundfish and crab, are stable or positive.

The McDowell report said Alaska's salmon fisheries face serious challenges, "but we have outstanding assets to work with to meet those challenges." The overall value of Alaska's seafood has remained relatively stable in recent years, and the diversity and size of harvests helps moderate peaks and valleys in individual fisheries. The mainstream media often overlook the big picture when reporting on the seafood industry, the report added.

Free for 'small fry'

Free educational materials about salmon are available for teachers and students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade. The materials, which were developed by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, meet national science curriculum standards. They can be downloaded from the ASMI Web site. Also available are instructions for ordering an interactive poster for kindergarten through second-grade students, and a 14-minute video on Alaska salmon, which was broadcast as a National Geographic special.

Salmon on a stick

Salmon lollipops are the hit of the Park Avenue Cafe in New York City. Created by chef David Burke, the smoked salmon offerings take little time to make. WorldCatch provided this recipe, which would be easy to modify:

For the center of the pop, mix cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, capers, lemon zest, red onions and a little of the smoked salmon in a food processor. Refrigerate until very firm. Roll them in chopped (not sliced) smoked salmon until they are evenly covered. Then insert the lollipop stick and chill again.

As seen on the company's "gourmetpop" Web page, the salmon pops look like a somewhat smaller version of caramel or candy apples on a stick. Chef Burke says that the salmon lollipops are very simple to do at home, but they require plenty of room in the refrigerator for chilling. Also, he says to "do yourself a favor" and get the lollipop sticks from a local grocer.

Kodiak-based free-lance writer Laine Welch can be reached via e-mail at (msfish@ptialaska.net).