Low prices are marring another banner year of returns for Alaska’s salmon fisheries.
Forecasts for catches of sockeye, chum, and pink salmon have all been exceeded, with more than 201 million total salmon caught through 25 August, already far above the 2022 total of 163.2 million fish and exceeding the 192 million salmon caught in 2021.
More than 49.6 million sockeye have been landed in Alaska this season, down from 72.5 million in 2022 but above the forecasted total of 48 million sockeye, with ongoing late-run fisheries still reporting solid catch totals. The pink salmon season is winding down with around 133.2 million salmon caught, nearly double the 69.5 million caught in 2022, helped by its odd-year return cycle, and coming in above the fishery’s 122-million-fish preseason prediction. And 16.6 million chum have been caught through 25 August, above the 14.9 million caught in 2022 and bettering the 16-million-fish preseason prediction from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Additionally, 185,000 king salmon have been caught, which exceeded a preseason forecast of 78,000, and 1.2 million coho have been caught in 2023, coming in below expectations 3 million coho would be caught. The seasonal average prices by species across Alaska has been: USD 5.76 (EUR 5.32) per pound for king salmon; USD 1.60 (EUR 1.48) per pound for coho salmon; and USD 0.55 (EUR 0.51) per pound of chum salmon, according to the Alaksa Department of Fish and Game.
Despite the strong numbers, few in Alaska’s salmon industry are celebrating.
Low prices offered by processors for sockeye salmon angered many fishermen, and a collapse in the pink salmon market, caused by a confluence of high inventory levels and low demand, have collectively resulted in many fishermen working less than they typically would, or not fishing at all.
“I’ve been in the industry a long time, and I’ve never seen markets like this,” Trident CEO Joe Bundrant said in his company’s mid-August announcement it would delay upgrading several processing facilities in Alaska. “The rate and pace at which markets are collapsing across our key species is staggering. Not only are global inventories and operating costs high, but demand is low; some are selling at or below cost just to generate cash.”
Trident dropped its price for chum salmon USD 0.20 (EUR 0.19) per pound in response to massive harvests in Russia and announced it will stop buying salmon across most of Alaska – except for Petersburg and Cordova South – beginning 1 September, according to KMXT. Furthmore, Trident said it won’t be participating in Washington state’s Puget Sound or fall salmon fisheries.
“Last week, Russia harvested pink volume equivalent to the entire Alaska pink annual forecast, and they have shown a willingness to offload inventory at very low prices in part to fund the war in Ukraine,” Trident CEO Joe Bundrant and senior vice president Jeff Welbourn wrote in a 5 August letter to fishermen.
Mike Friccero, the captain of a salmon-fishing vessel based out of Kodiak, Alaska, said he cut short his fishing due to the low prices he was offered by his processor.
“If you’re catching 5,000 pounds and you’re thinking USD 0.80 [EUR 0.74], then your crew’s share might be USD 400 [EUR ],” he said. “That’s worth doing for folks, but once it drops into the lower figures, if you have crew that have talent, they’ve got other things they want to get over to.”
The low offers have many Alaska fishermen rethinking their future in the industry, including Bristol Bay sockeye fisherman Cheyne Blough, who has discouraged his kids from following him into the profession.
"My kids grew up on my boat, and before we even had this catastrophic offering of this season, unfortunately, I've had to tell each one of them that I don't think it's a good idea to get in the fishing industry," Blough told KDLG. "It's been hard, it's been tears. But the last thing you want is your children to get strapped to hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of debt, and then have the rug pulled out from under them. And that's what's going on. I didn't think it would happen quite this way, quite this fast. But it has, and thank goodness that I've given my kids that advice. And right now they see it clear-eyed.”
There has been a rush of fishermen seeking to exit the industry this summer, according to marine surveyor David Couch.
"Guys are selling out. I'm talking to brokers, because I'm having a problem valuating vessels right now. We're seeing at least a 30 percent reduction from the spring to right now on vessel prices. I'm gonna have to write ranges of prices, and I won't be able to give an exact price anymore."
Gunnar Knapp, an economist specializing in Alaskan fisheries, said everyone involved in the industry is struggling despite the healthy salmon runs this year.
“To get the lowest price you’ve ever gotten while you’re working just as hard as you ever did, and other expenses like fuel have gone up – it puts fishermen in a really tough position,” Knapp said. “I think processors would also say that they’re in a really tough position and their companies are on the line.”
Three consecutive seasons of robust catches flooding the market with product, combined with falling demand and plenty more fish available this year, have resulted in a global glut, according to Knapp. Along with higher fuel and labor prices, the challenges facing Alaska’s salmon industry have been significant this year, he said.
Friccero said he hopes market conditions improve over the winter, but in the meantime, he called for improved transparency on market participation from processors. And he called for guaranteed minimum price for each fishery.
“Looking for transparency, anything would improve it, right, because there’s almost none,” he said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re being mistreated in any way, it’s just very hard to have a conversation with no information.”
Photo courtesy of Sekar B/Shutterstock
