By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOT U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) figures for U.S. fishery products are dated. For 2007, for example, it indicated that the European Union was the biggest market for these products, accounting for 26 percent of the market. Japan came in second at 19 percent, and Canada third at 18 percent. This could be because Spaniards are notoriously known as the second largest consumers of seafood behind the Japanese. The single largest fish group exported from the United States that year was salmon (19 percent), followed by pollock (14 percent), and lobster (9 percent), a 2007 USDA/FAS report states. Copper River salmon is particularly a big seller. Salmon from the Copper River are renowned worldwide for their meat’s elegant red hue, health benefits and rich savory flavor. Operating as one of the premier producers of Alaskan seafood and Copper River salmon is Copper River Seafoods. From its offices and processing facilities in both Cordova and Anchorage, Alaska, the company ships its fresh, smoked or frozen catch to markets around the world via air freight. Products are shipped Monday through Friday via FedEx. Frozen seafood products are shipped Fedex Overnight. Smoked seafood products are shipped via Fedex two day delivery. According to company executives, frozen products must be shipped using overnight service to ensure that they are still frozen upon delivery. Copper River Seafoods packs the frozen fish in dry ice, which drives the temperature of the product down enabling it to remain frozen. But due to dry ice’s limited life, products packed in it must arrive to their destination within 24 hours to ensure that they stay frozen. In addition, frozen products are carefully hand packed in a styrofoam box for insulation, then the styrofoam box is placed in a cardboard box for shipping and protection. Alaska is a major exporter of seafood. According to U.S. Census figures, last year, Alaska’s seafood exports were $1.6 billion, down 9.8 percent. Japan has long been the state’s largest seafood export market, followed by China, Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, and Canada. Markets in Asia accounted for nearly three-quarters of Alaska’s seafood exports, while exports to the EU accounted for 18.8 percent. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has marketing representatives based in Japan, China and the EU. According to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, one of the biggest changes to the industry is the fact some processors are going out of business. Others are putting fishermen on limits, or shortening the list of fishermen from whom they will buy. Dock prices recently plummeted and are only beginning to recover. On the positive side, improvements in logistics, the emergence of the internet as a selling tool, and generally strong retail-level markets have created opportunities for innovative direct marketing. This has prompted many fishermen to examine the potential for direct marketing some or all of their fish catches. One of the benefits of processing and marketing one’s own catch is the ability to sell to buyers high in the production chain by bypassing costly middlemen, (processors, wholesalers, etc.). Direct marketers can cater to niche markets with their small-scale operations, high value product and compelling stories.