Crab fishermen in Kodiak, Alaska, are going fishing after obtaining agreements from regional processors on higher prices.
On 28 January, the fishermen struck four separate agreements that will see them receive more than the USD 2.50 (EUR 2.29) per pound they were initially offered on 17 January, just after the fishery officially opened on 15 January. Processors upped their offer to USD 3.25 (EUR 2.97) on 24 January but Kodiak’s fleet voted that down as well.
While Trident Seafoods maintained its offer at USD 3.25, Alaska Pacific Seafoods and Pacific Seafoods agreed to USD 3.35 (EUR ) per pound plus a retroactive payment based on final market price of the crab. OBI Seafood settled for USD 3.25 plus profit-sharing, and all four offers received 80 percent approval in a vote involving participants in the fishery, according to KMXT.
Kodiak Crab Alliance Cooperative Secretary Kevin Abena said he was proud of the unity the fleet showed in fighting for a higher price.
“We stuck together, we’re gonna roll this thing out together, and we’re looking at it as a victory,”Abena said. “It’s important for these processors to know that we can stick together and organize and honestly get a more fair deal on the table.”
The approximately 130 vessels in the fleet began setting gear at noon local time on Monday, 30 January. Abena said some of the vessels may decide to do business with Peter Pan in King Cove, Westward Seafoods in Dutch Harbor, and UniSea in Dutch Harbor, which have offered higher prices, and because there may be a bottleneck at local canneries with the rush to catch the fishery’s total allowable catch of 5.8 million pounds.
Abena, who is also the captain of crab-fishing vessel Big Blue, said he has felt a sense of relief knowing the season is now really underway.
“For a fisherman, he’s worried about when he’s going fishing and how long he’s going to be out fishing,” he said. “And now we have that first piece of that puzzle – we have when we’re leaving. That’s huge.”
Photo courtesy of Troy Larson/Shutterstock
