More Peltola fisheries legislation

Alaska Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who is fighting for reelection, has put in a bill that appears designed to shield the Alaska fishing industry from offshore fish farm competition, while also subsidizing development of community seafood processing capacity.

'Fluency in Czech and Slovak language preferred'

So, who works in Alaska's processing plants?

If you think it's Lower 48 college kids up for a summer salmon adventure, you'd best get with the times.

Just check out this ad for a production manager over in Cordova.

Want a job on the slime line?

Read this.

Are you too old for this job?

The state Department of Labor's Alaska Economic Trends newsletter for November has a cover story about employment in the seafood industry.

It's an easy and interesting seven-page read. Here's a few highlights:

• The fishing and processing sectors combined for 16,297 jobs last year, up almost 12 percent since the bottom of the salmon depression in 2002.

• The industry's youth is on deck with almost half of vessel crewmen under 30 years old last year. Processing workers generally are older, averaging 39 in 2008. Fishing permit holders are the graybeards, averaging 46 years old.

• Alaska's highly seasonal seafood industry has a huge nonresident component, with 27 percent of permit holders 46 percent of crewmen and 74 percent of processing workers living out of state last year.