Saving Seafood

Alaska fishermen optimistic as Pacific halibut fishery opens

March 3, 2021 — The Pacific halibut fishery opens March 6, and increased catch limits combined with a cautiously optimistic outlook for the near future have fanned interest in buying shares of the popular fish.

In January, the International Pacific Halibut Commission boosted total halibut removals for 2021 by 6.5% to 39 million pounds for taken by all users and as bycatch in fisheries of the West Coast, British Columbia and Alaska. That is higher than the total take for the past three years.

For commercial fishermen, the halibut catch limit of 25.7 million pounds is an increase of 2.6 million pounds over 2020. Alaska gets the largest chunk at 19.6 million pounds, and all regions except for the Bering Sea will see increased catches.

“People are thrilled to see that, hopefully, the tide has turned after catch limits for most areas have been declining for about the past 15 years. And they are happy to know they’re going to see some more pounds on their permits this year,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer.

“By all accounts the market looks like it is warming up,” agreed Lisa Gulliford at Permit Master in Tacoma, Washington. “Interest and flexibility from both buyers and sellers is always good news and I am hopeful this trend will continue through the year.”

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

ALAKSA: Salmon permit values rise on optimism; halibut shares sinking

April 25, 2019 — Nearly all Alaska salmon permits have gone up in value since last fall and buying/selling/trading action is brisk.

“We’re as busy as we’ve ever been in the last 20 years,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. “Boat sales are doing well and between IFQs (individual fishing quota) and permit sales, we’ve got a busy year going.”

The salmon permit interest is fueled by a forecast this year of more than 213 million fish, an 85 percent increase over 2018. Also, salmon prices are expected to be higher.

For the bellwether drift permit at Bristol Bay, the value has increased from around $165,000 and sales are now being made in the low- to mid-$170,000 range.

Several good salmon seasons in a row pushed drift permits at Area M on the Alaska Peninsula to about $175,000 last fall, Bowen said “and if you can find one now, it’s going to cost you over $200,000.”

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

ALASKA: Strong salmon forecast pushes up permit prices

April 24, 2019 — Nearly all Alaska salmon permits have gone up in value since last fall. Buying, selling and trading action is brisk.

“We’re as busy as we’ve ever been in the last 20 years,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. “Boat sales are doing well, and between IFQs and permit sales, we’ve got a busy year going.”

The salmon permit interest is fueled by a forecast this year of more than 213 million fish, an 85 percent increase over 2018. Also, salmon prices are expected to be higher.

For the bellwether drift permit at Bristol Bay, the value has increased from around $165,000, and sales are now being made in the low- to mid-$170,000 range.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Commercial catches of Pacific halibut increase for most Alaska regions

February 11, 2019 — Contrary to all expectations, commercial catches of Pacific halibut were increased for 2019 in all but one Alaska region.

The numbers were revealed Friday at the International Pacific Halibut Commission annual meeting in Victoria, British Columbia.

The reason was due to increased estimates of the overall halibut biomass based on expanded surveys last summer from Northern California to the Bering Sea, said Doug Bowen who operates Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer.

“There’s a couple of strong year classes from 2011 and 2012 that are just starting to show up in the commercial catches and I think the scientists are cautiously optimistic that we could see some better harvests as a result of those halibut entering the fishery,” he said in a phone call as he was leaving the meetings.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Alaska salmon permit values stall amid lackluster catch forecast

April 17, 2018 — Spring is usually the busiest time of year for brokers in the buy/sell/trade business for Alaska salmon permits. But that’s not the case this year.

Values for several salmon permits had ticked upwards after a blockbuster salmon fishery in 2017, but they have remained stagnant since last fall.

“That sort of summarizes the salmon permit market. There is not a lot of excitement about any of them,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer.

A lackluster catch forecast for the upcoming salmon season — down 34 percent — has helped dampen enthusiasm.

Even at the one big bright spot at Bristol Bay, where another big sockeye catch of more than 37 million fish is expected, the value of drift net permits has stalled in the $150,000 range.

 “Sometimes before the season we see the price go up and up until the fishing begins. This year it just seems like it’s a calmer market and the price actually slipped,” Bowen said.

Also at play in the bay: Major buyers will no longer purchase salmon from “dry” boats starting this year.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

 

‘Cautious optimism’ surrounds value of Alaska salmon fishing permits

October 30, 2017 — It’s steady as she goes for the values of Alaska salmon fishing permits, with upticks in the wind at several fishing regions.

“There’s a lot of cautious optimism,” said Jeff Osborn of Dock Street Brokers in Seattle.

As well there should be after a salmon fishery that produced 225 million fish valued at nearly $680 million, a 67 percent increase over 2016.

Bristol Bay drift salmon permits trade more than any other due to sheer volume (1,800), and it’s no surprise the value is increasing after one of the best fishing seasons ever. But they are not “rocketing up” in value, said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits at Homer.

“They’re over $140,000 right now, which is up from the start of the season when they were down around $130,000-$135,000,” Bowen said. “But they are inching up and it seems there’s as many people who want to get into the bay as there are who want to get out, and so the prices have kind of stabilized.”

Osborn at Dock Street agreed.

“They haven’t come up at Bristol Bay as much as I would’ve anticipated, but maybe that’s yet to come,” he said, referring to potentially strong 2018 salmon forecasts being released soon by state fishery managers.

Read the full story at the Alaska Dispatch News

ALASKA: Pacific halibut harvest numbers increased this year

November 11th, 2016 — As Alaska’s iconic halibut fishery wraps up this week, stakeholders are holding their breath to learn if catches might ratchet up slightly again in 2017. Meanwhile, prices for hard to get shares of the halibut catch are jaw-dropping.

The halibut fishery ends on Nov. 7 for nearly 2,000 longliners who hold IFQs (Individual Fishing Quotas) of halibut. The Alaska fishery will produce a catch of more than 20 million pounds if the limit is reached by the fleet. Last year, the halibut haul was worth nearly $110 million at the Alaska docks.

For the first time in several decades the coastwide Pacific halibut harvest numbers increased this year by 2.3 percent to nearly 30 million pounds. Along with Alaska, the eight-month fishery includes the Pacific coast states and British Columbia.

The feeling that the halibut resource is stabilizing and recovering after a long decline has upped the ante for shares of the catch. The fact that the dock price again hovered in the $6 to $7 a pound range all season at major ports also has fanned interest. It holds especially true for shares of Southeast Alaska fish.

“Fishermen say they’re seeing some of the best fishing they’ve ever seen in their lives there, bigger fish, better production and you see that reflected in IFQ prices,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer.

The quota shares are sold in various categories, and the asking price for prime shares in Southeast waters has reached $70 per pound!

Read the full story at the Petersburg Pilot