Lawmakers in Alaska are finalizing a suite of bills to address the US state's beleaguered seafood industry, the Alaska Beacon reports.

A legislative task force created last spring is weighing recommendations ranging from international marketing of Alaska seafood to local initiatives, such as shared community cold-storage facilities, to reduce costs.

The draft recommendations from the Alaska Seafood Industry Task Force propose reforming the structure of seafood taxes levied on harvesters and processors, along with new tax incentives for companies to invest in modernization, product diversification and sustainability.

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It also considers restructuring the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) and including mariculture in its portfolio, something that would require a law change. Lawmakers also considered giving the state-funded organization more autonomy to insulate it from politcal pressures.

"Because the world is changing. It's a global marketplace. We need to have ASMI to have as large a presence as possible," incoming House Fisheries chair Bryce Edgmon, an independent from Dillingham.

Alaska's seafood industry is beset by crises from economic forces, heavily influenced by international turmoil, and a glut of competing Russian fish dumped on world markets, depressed commodity prices and rising operating costs. 

Climate change and other environmental factors have triggered crashes in important fisheries, including the Bering Sea king and snow crab fisheries. There have also been poor salmon returns in many regions of the state.

Details have not been released, though members have said the draft recommendations that have emerged from the task force's work address marketing, product development, workforce shortages, financing, operating costs, insurance and other aspects of seafood harvesting, processing and sales.

The seafood industry task force is working under a Jan. 21 deadline set by lawmakers. But senate president Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, said the report likely won't be finalized until Feb. 1.