September 8, 2026 — In the runup to this year’s fishing season, Haines fisherman Dan Kendryna made some expensive but much-needed upgrades to his gillnetter.
“That was before I knew the prices. But I can finally breathe a little bit now that that’s done and the season covered it,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t.”
He said this year has been “pretty incredible,” financially speaking. That has more to do with sky-high fish prices than with the fishing itself. Overall, Kendryna said the fishing hasn’t been extraordinary, but high prices made up for it — and then some.
“A lot of people have been doing some upgrades that they haven’t been able to justify in a long time,” Kendryna said.
Haines Packing Company, a local processor, did not respond to a request for comment about this summer’s prices. But local fishermen say prices for all of the salmon species were higher than any they remember in decades.