In Cod (And Crab!) We Trust – Oregon’s Seafood Processing Industry
By Erik Knoder Oregon Regional Economist Clatsop, Columbia, Lincoln, and Tillamook counties erik.a.knoder@oregon.gov Originally posted at https://www.qualityinfo.org/-/in-cod-and-crab-we-trust-oregon-s-seafood-processing-industry
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n 2020, Oregon had 31 employers and 1,192 employees turning slimy sh and armored crustaceans into succulent seafood ready for cooking and eating. These numbers are down from previous years as the industry was hit by the pandemic recession. Commercial shers landed about 345 million pounds of sh and shell sh in
Oregon in 2020, about 81 pounds per Oregonian. About 64% of this volume consisted of whiting, mostly used to make surimi. Total harvests had a dockside value of $152 million, a decrease of 6% from the year before. Fishermen sold a small portion of the harvest off their vessels or at markets directly to consumers. Most, however, was sold to processors and buyers then
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exported or sold to wholesalers, retailers, restaurants and consumers. The seafood processing industry – part of the manufacturing sector – includes businesses that clean, freeze, can, smoke, salt, and dry seafood. It also includes rms that shuck and pack shell sh. Although Oregon currently doesn’t have any, it also would include
