Introducing Exiting Eden
Currently, there are few tanneries in Southeast Alaska, especially those catering to processing sea otter and other traditional Native Alaskan harvested hides. The mariculture industry is being threatened by the over population of sea otters, who are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) enforced by the US Fish and Wildlife Department (FWS) (Hoyt, 2015). The only means to management and population control, is through hunting by Alaskan Natives. However, Alaskan Natives struggle with finding affordable and easily accessible tanneries to process the hides after harvesting.
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Much of the harvesting of sea otters is located in and around communities that have a local tannery, specifically tanneries in Sitka serving Hoona and Angoon, according to the harvest numbers provided by the FWS. The number of harvested sea otters in the Ketchikan and Prince of Wales area is low in comparison to other communities.
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The sea otters are a colonizing animal, meaning they move into an area after their population in another area grows too large for the food source to sustain. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) has observed and recorded the effects of sea otters on the sea life in the dive fisheries and harvest areas.
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Exiting Eden Tannery’s vision is to protect and strengthen the shellfish industry in Southern Southeast Alaska by providing garment quality tanning and fur dressing services to Alaskan Native hunters.
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Exiting Eden Tannery will be a commercial tannery, specializing in fur dressing for sea otters, seals, sea lions, and other traditionally harvested fur bearing animals. Many Alaskan Native sea otter hunters can and do harvest on average between 25 -100 sea otters per trip. This number may seem high, but the population of sea otters is growing at an estimated 12-15% per year with an estimated population of over 30,000 currently (Hoyt, 2015).
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The hunters must skin, flesh, salt and dry the animals in order to preserve the hides until they can be shipped to a tannery. Exiting Eden is a local tannery and therefore the hunters do not have to salt and dry the hides, which requires a large space to store the hides during the drying process. The hunters can hand deliver the hides directly to Exiting Eden Tannery, also saving on shipping costs.
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Commercial tanneries generally charge anywhere from $120 - $200 per hide not including the shipping to get the hides to and from the tannery. Additionally, the other tanneries generally require payment in full before any tanned hides will be released. Exiting Eden will also provide a storage site for the hunters to store their tanned hides until they need them. This will allow the hunters to pick up only what they need to produce a handicraft, reducing the amount of capital each hunter will have to supply. Additionally, this philosophy will allow the hunters to harvest more sea otters without fear of ruining the hides or not being able to get the hides processed quickly.
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Exiting Eden Tannery will be owned and operated by a Tlingit Native Alaskan woman and is looking for investors to assist with financing the start up for operations and a location. Currently, Exiting Eden Tannery is a concept start up in hopes of beginning operations by 2018. Funding for the first year is being sought from those entities that have interest in the development of this project. The shellfish, mariculture, and dive industries, guiding services, Native groups, etc. may have a desire to see this project be successful, as it will play a huge role in their livelihoods.
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Based on the notion that many Native hunters typically harvest anywhere from 25 – 100 sea otters a hunt there appears to be plenty of pelts to tan. As mentioned, the average price to have a sea otter pelt tanned is around $140 plus the shipping to and from the tannery. Exiting Eden anticipates to tan 50-60 sea otter hides a month for the first year along with other fur bearing and large game animals, generating a breakeven date in the 3rd month of operations, based on the financial models provided in this plan. The amount of sea otters that need to be harvested to legally manage the sea otter population and protect the shellfish and dive fisheries will be more than adequate to sustain the tannery.
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