BRISTOL BAY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP

Regional fishing development - see schedule obbedc offers vessel upgrade grants to resident commercial fishers to help upgrade and modernize the fleet with technical innovations, efficient engines, outboards, or simply the repairs necessary to keep vessels out on the fishing grounds. A new change was made to the program in 2023; previous participants in the vessel upgrade grant program may qualify for the program again, provided their application meets the eligibility criteria. Drift operations can qualify for up to $35,000 and set net operations for up to $17,500 to help optimize their fishing operations. In 2023, bbedc spent $1,008,252 to help fifty-six resident fishers from fifteen bristol bay communities upgrade their equipment.in-season emergency provisionthe in-season emergency provision provides emergency support for resident fishers needing to get back on the water if they experience a catastrophic engine or drive train failure during the season. Qualifying resident drift operations can access up to $35,000, and qualifying resident set net operations can access up to $17,500. Applicants who have received a vessel upgrade grant in the previous three years may not be eligible as these programs share the same pool of funding. In 2023, bbedc spent $64,284 through this provision to help five resident fishers continue their season after breaking down.rsw purchase programmany processors offer a substantial bonus for chilling, and delivering high quality chilled fish has become the industry standard in bristol bay. Refrigerated sea water (rsw) systems can provide an efficient alternative to icing while also saving on fuel expenses and reduced fishing time from travelling to get ice. Rsw systems cool sea water in the vessel's fish holds to chill the catch, keeping harvested salmon fresh. Bbedc's rsw purchase program offers grants of up to $22,000 to assist qualified bristol bay watershed resident fishers with the cost of purchasing an rsw system. To ensure efficient operation of an rsw unit, vessels must be prepared with insulated fish holds, adequate hydraulics, and proper plumbing before being approved for an rsw grant. Applications for the rsw purchase program are accepted year-round, and grant funds can be used in conjunction with bbedc's vessel upgrade grant to further reduce the fisher's cost of preparing their vessel for an rsw system. In 2023, bbedc distributed $44,000 across two rsw purchase program grants.rsw support programmany processors in bristol bay require their fleet to chill their harvest to ensure a consistently high-quality product. Refrigerated sea water (rsw) systems are invaluable to many fishers as they allow operators to focus on fishing without the need for pausing to chase ice, however these systems often require certified rsw technicians to assist with start-up and repairs. Bbedc offers qualifying resident fishers an annual grant of up to $1,000 to help alleviate the cost for technical assistance on pre-season start-ups, maintenance, and winterization of their rsw units. In 2023, nineteen resident fishers across seven communities received $14,223 in grant awards. Bristol bay ice, llc (bbice)bbedc's ice barge the bristol maid serviced the nushagak fleet near clarks point and sold 408,302 lbs. Of ice to fishers, a 37% decrease in sales from 2022. This decrease could be because there were significantly less boats registered in the district in 2023, and many captains ended their season early after processors announced a reduced price paid to fishers for their salmon. With the bristol lady out of commission this season, bbedc contracted with northline seafoods to ensure the fleet had access to ice on the eastside of bristol bay via the sm-3. Northline's sm-3 provided slurry ice in the naknek district, rather than the traditional flake ice. Overall, ice distribution efforts in the bay went smoothly in 2023, and bbedc looks forward to continuing its chilling operations and partnerships in the years to come.fisheries habitat protection grantdespite the success and excitement of the epa's january 30, 2023, determination under section 404(c) of the clean water act to prohibit and restrict the use of certain waters near the pebble deposit, a great deal of work remains to ensure our waters are protected from environmental threats. United tribes of bristol bay (utbb) and commercial fishermen for bristol bay (cfbb) continued their missions to protect bristol bay's fisheries habitat. Bbedc granted them each $150,000 to assist their ongoing efforts to engage and educate from the individual to the federal level.vessel acquisition programresident's success in the fishery is dependent upon access to the necessary equipment, which includes a vessel. Enhancing the ability of residents to obtain a competitive and efficient vessel is the focus of the vessel acquisition program. Vessel may also mean a licensable truck provided that the applicant can demonstrate that a vehicle is the primary vessel for their individual fishing operation at the point of harvest and delivery. The program can provide a down payment grant, interest subsidy, equity assistance, rsw incentive, training, and technical business counseling. Applicants must be able to obtain a loan through an established lending institute. In 2023, five resident drift fishers and one resident set fisher entered the program, bringing the total cumulative program participants to 38. Thirty-five of the participants remain active while three have graduated from the program. The cumulative investment by bbedc in 2023 was $440,706 for down payment grants, rsw incentive and committed annual "sweat" equity, and interest subsidies. Permit loan programlimited entry salmon permits held by bristol bay watershed residents have declined since the original inception in 1975. That decline has severely diminished the overall commercial salmon fishing income generated by residents making out-migration of permits one of the most detrimental economic events in the bristol bay region. Retaining and returning limited entry permits to the region continues to be a bbedc priority. The permit loan program enhances residents' ability to purchase and successfully operate a limited entry salmon permit through a menu of financial and technical services including loan guarantee, down payment grant, interest assistance, principal reduction assistance, technical assistance and/or training to successful applicants. Participants are selected through an evaluative process and the program is unique in that it is available to residents of all the 25 bristol bay watershed communities. Four new participants were added in 2023 which brought the total cumulative number of participants to 76. As of 2023, sixty-one continue to participate in the program. Bbedc invested a total of $340,011 for new entries, committed equity assistance (sweat equity) and interest subsidy.

Community/group training the community/group training program is available to local village, city, borough governments and known training providers. This program works with sponsoring entities to support training that benefits the region's workforce and fisheries. Although some training occurs outside the region, more and more organizations are finding ways to host training within the region and help keep the costs lower for residents who wish to attend. There were five organizations that participated in this program in 2023 which benefited 167 participants from 9 different communities in the bristol bay area. In-region internship programin-region internships are for learning and experiencing any given field of work, either because residents are required to do so for their educational pursuit, or for someone with prior work experience who is interested in gaining in-depth knowledge about a particular job or career. Three residents participated in the program in 2023 and bbedc reimbursed employers $47,217 in wages and eligible employment taxes related to the positions.nursing program supportthrough collaboration with the university of alaska fairbanks(uaf) bristol bay campus, university of alaska anchorage can admit a cohort of students into the school of nursing associates of applied sciences (aas) program. This degree program accepts cohorts of students every other year with the next cohort scheduled to start fall semester 2025. This gives anyone who is interested, time to work on the pre-requisites through uaf's pre-nursing certification program and is open to new applicants every semester. In 2023, bbedc supported the nursing program by providing $17,500 to help pay for costs associated with instruction and clinical materials for hands-on learning.southwest alaska vocational education center (savec) the southwest alaska vocational education center (savec) is an organization within bristol bay that was established to provide training directly related to the local workforce needs. The staff work directly with organizations to help coordinate trainings by helping with scheduling, ordering supplies, working on travel for resident participants, and more. Savec offers training opportunities virtually, in-person at the naknek headquarters, or in the community with training needs. Savec hosted or organized 11 trainings in 2023 and provided 87 residents with valuable education and skills. Bbedc support totaled $140,002, benefiting 8 separate communities that the participants live in. Vocational/technical training programthe vocational/technical training program is for residents who are interested in training, certifications, or continuing their education to either maintain and enhance their current skill set or a new skill all together. Residents are eligible for up to $5,000 annually to cover tuition, associated costs, and travel expenses. Since the variety of trainings residents may be interested in can occur at any time throughout the year, bbedc just requires applications to be complete and submitted at least 7 full business days before the start date. Thirty-four residents participated in this program in 2023 with $119,275 of the eligible expenses covered by bbedc. Youth internship programbbedc works with organizations in the region to help support the future of the workforce through the youth internship program. This short-term internship can be anywhere from 4 to 16 weeks and is an opportunity to learn skills that will help youth in their future jobs. The internship is also a chance for some youth to apply for and interview for their first jobs ever, which are both skills that need to be learned and practiced as part of the whole experience. Bbedc supported 17 interns around the region, reimbursing local businesses $65,474 for wages and eligible associated costs in 2023. Seasonal employment programbbedc works with employers around the region to create short-term employment opportunities that give residents experience in entry level positions. The seasonal employment program is for positions lasting between 4-16 weeks and is available at any time during the year. Bbedc works with employers to advertise employment positions and then assists residents interested in applying and interviewing. Although seasonal positions are more common during the region's busier summer months, there are also businesses in the spring and winter months that offer positions. There were 46 positions advertised in 7 communities in the bbedc service area in 2023. Twenty-seven of the positions were filled by residents and bbedc reimbursed employers a total of $229,018 for eligible employment costs.