Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Converging forces make for worst Upper Cook Inlet commercial salmon season in decades

November 13, 2020 — Low prices, an oddly timed sockeye run and another year of very poor Kenai king returns combined to result in one of the worst Upper Cook Inlet commercial fishing seasons on record.

The 2020 Upper Cook Inlet harvest of roughly 1.2 million salmon was less than half the recent 10-year average harvest of 3.2 million fish and the estimated cumulative ex-vessel value of approximately $5.2 million was the worst on record, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Upper Cook Inlet Commercial Salmon Fishery Season Summary.

The average ex-vessel, or unprocessed wholesale value of salmon caught by the Upper Cook Inlet fleet over the previous 10 years was $27 million and the last time it didn’t reach at least $10 million was 2001 when the total ex-vessel harvest value was $7.7 million. The last time the nominal value of the Upper Cook Inlet fishery — not adjusted for inflation — was at least as low as 2020 was 1972 when a harvest of 2.2 million salmon netted $3.5 million for fishermen.

However, the dismal result of the 2020 fishery was not because the primary target species, sockeye, didn’t show up. The preseason estimate for the total Upper Cook Inlet sockeye return of nearly 4.3 million fish, which corresponded to a preseason commercial harvest estimate of roughly 1.7 million sockeye, was just 2 percent less than the total sockeye return of just more than 4.3 million fish to the region’s river systems.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

ALASKA: Lower supplies of wild Pacific salmon by major producers push up prices

October 7, 2020 — Now that the 2020 pack of Alaska salmon has been caught and put up, stakeholders will get a better picture of how global prices may rise or fall.

Nearly 75% of the value of Alaska’s salmon exports is driven by sales between July and October. And right now, lower supplies of wild Pacific salmon by the major producers are pushing up prices as the bulk of those sales are made.

For sockeye salmon, global supplier and market tracker Tradex reports that frozen fillets are in high demand and supplies are hard to source for all sizes. With a catch this year topping 45 million, Alaska is the leading producer of that popular commodity.

“Luckily, sockeye harvests were once again abundant in Bristol Bay as fishermen caught nearly 200 million pounds. Although that’s a bigger than average harvest for Bristol Bay, it’s still down 9% from last year. With lower sockeye harvests in Russia and closures in Canada, we estimate the global sockeye harvest declined by 26% in 2020,” said Andy Wink, executive director of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association speaking on the Tradex Three-Minute Market Report.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Alaska’s Salmon Fisheries Confront COVID-19

September 1, 2020 — Northwest summers mean salmon on the grill. While Alaskans fill freezers with their own catch – our freezers are filled with enough salmon to last until next summer – those grilling elsewhere must buy either farm-raised salmon or wild sockeye salmon caught in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Wild salmon return from the ocean to restart a life cycle that has persisted for millions of years. Wild Alaska sockeye (a favorite species of salmon) is caught over the course of a four- to six-week season, from mid-June through July, when the largest remaining wild salmon population returns to Bristol Bay.

These fish have been harvested by Alaska native peoples for thousands of years. Sockeye have been smoked, filleted, canned and frozen – and given, traded, sold and eaten – for generations.

Read the full story at U.S. News

California startup turns Bristol Bay salmon skins into a fried snack

August 26, 2020 — A flash-fried snack made from Bristol Bay sockeye salmon skins has been spawned by a Los Angeles-based company called Goodfish, which aims to “propel sustainable seafood into our mass-market consumer culture.”

It is the second venture for partners Justin Guilbert and Douglas Riboud, a well-financed duo who are committed to trailblazing brands that have “higher standards of sourcing, manufacturing, and social ethos.”

A decade ago they co-founded Harmless Harvest, the world’s first sustainably harvested, organic coconut water. That product, now found in 70,000 U.S. outlets, helped economize non-timber forest products made from renewable resources.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Republican push to block controversial Alaskan gold mine gains the White House’s attention

August 21, 2020 — Federal approval of a controversial gold and copper mine in Alaska that would be the largest in North America may be put on hold after a small group of influential Republicans — including the president’s son, Fox News host Tucker Carlson, a wealthy Trump donor and one of the vice president’s former top aides — launched a full-court press to block the project.

The proposed Pebble Mine was on the verge of winning a key permit from the Trump administration despite concerns from environmentalists that it could significantly damage Alaska’s world-renowned sockeye salmon fishery in nearby Bristol Bay.

That also happens to be a fishing spot of Donald Trump Jr., who made an impassioned case against the mine to his father during an early August fundraiser he hosted at his Bridgehampton, N.Y., home. Andrew Sabin, a Trump donor who was at the seaside gathering, also told the president that the mine was a bad idea. And last week, Carlson argued against the proposed mine on his television show.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

Alaskans Own, Northline Seafoods donate 45,000 pounds of sockeye

August 17, 2020 — This week, two community supported fisheries announced a plan to give back to Alaska communities in need. Alaskans Own and Northline Seafoods are teaming up to deliver 45,000 pounds of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon to Alaska Native villages experiencing record-low salmon returns this year. The announcement follows on the heels of SeaShare’s announcement that its donation requests to food banks and other hunger-relief efforts have skyrocketed this year.

Both Alaskans Own and Northline Seafoods are based in Sitka and evolved from a devotion to sustaining fishing communities, which makes these donation initiatives a perfect match.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Bristol Bay catch lifts sluggish Alaska summer salmon season

July 29, 2020 — Alaska’s summer salmon season drifts into its second half as Bristol Bay’s sockeye fishery is winding down from another strong catch of around 38 million fish, leaving pink salmon to take center stage.

In his weekly report for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Garrett Evridge said preliminary data from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game put average Bristol Bay sockeye size at just over five pounds, continuing a trend of larger runs of smaller fish in the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. Total state-wide catch for sockeye sat at 42 million fish, which was on par with 10-year averages, according to data compiled by Evridge.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Bristol Bay setnetters get their hands dirty (and sometimes lose a finger) to put salmon on your dinner table

July 27, 2020 — Most Alaskans know that commercial fishing is very important to the economy of our state. A small number of folks understand the ins and outs of a commercial gillnet operation. Fewer still understand what a setnet fishery is.

When one speaks of the gillnet fishery, the picture that comes to mind is one of a picturesque vessel with a long line of glistening white floats strung out behind. That is a semi-accurate depiction.

The setnet fishery bears little resemblance to that picture.

Setnetting is hard, dirty work — at least in Bristol Bay. If you are wearing name-brand raingear, few would recognize it because it would be covered in mud.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Sockeye ex-vessel prices in Bristol Bay, Alaska drop nearly 50 percent

July 24, 2020 — Major processors in Bristol Bay, Alaska, began posting base prices at USD 0.70 (EUR 0.60) per pound, just over half of last season’s price of USD 1.35 (EUR 1.16). Bristol Bay’s KDLG radio station reported that Peter Pan Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, Red Salmon/North Pacific Seafoods, and OBI Seafoods had all announced their price, with processing giant Silver Bay Seafoods yet to post.

Once one of the major processors in Bristol Bay announces the base price, the others typically follow suit. If a processor announces a lower price than a competitor, they risk angering their fleet and losing boats to other companies.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Bristol Bay Catch 31M Sockeye, Total Run Over 47M, Escapement Reached in Most Major Rivers

July 20, 2020 — As of two days ago, Bristol Bay landings of sockeye salmon have reached 30.7 million sockeye, with a total run clocking at 47.37 million sockeye. The run appears to be about a week later than historic timing indicates (with a peak during the week of July 4) and slightly more than pre-season estimates of 49 million sockeye, based on in-season Port Moller Test Fishery data.

The Bristol Bay salmon season is managed first by escapement, which looks good in all the major rivers. The highest producing system so far is Naknek-Kvichak with 11.13 million sockeye caught to date. The forecast for that three-river system is 12.34 million. Escapement there has been 9.43 million, nearly 3 million more than the pre-season forecast of 6.67 million.

Read the full story at Seafood News