Spike in Lobster Demand Pushes Live Lobster Prices to Highest August Pricing in Ten Years  Live lobster prices spiked again this past week and are now at their highest levels for the month of August in tens years according to Urner Barry. High demand from processors is driving up prices in the live lobster market. This week the market moved higher as many retailers upped their orders for the Labor Day weekend, at the same time that processors continued to buy to keep their plants running. Normally the lowest live lobster prices occur between September and November, as live demand weakens. It remains to be seen how this pattern will play out this year. Kwik-Pak Fisheries says 2016 is "a pivotal year" for the 2016 Yukon River salmon season because of record-breaking chum and coho harvests. The cumulative harvest is over 940,000 chum to date.  Managers are calling the fall chum salmon harvest the largest in the 55 years of commercial harvest. “The department has done an exceptional job managing the fishery. That’s why I feel very positive about the future. I think this is going to be the norm, to have consistent runs like this,” said Kwik-Pak's general manager Jack Schultheis. The company is also hoping to establish another milestone in the Yukon with a targeted pink fishery. Pink escapement this year was over double figures from previous years.  In other news, federal fishery scientists with Canada's DFO are investigating claims that cod in Southern Labrador are coming up thin and in generally poor condition. "It certainly seems like this year in southern Labrador the cod are not in very good condition at all," said DFO research scientist John Brattey. He pointed to a lack of capelin this year in southern Labrador as one potential cause: cod typically fatten up on the much smaller fish during the summer. The DFO will now monitor commercial catches and will conduct their own surveys. High Liner evacuated 81 employees from its Portsmouth facility this past Monday night because of an ammonia leak. Portsmouth Fire Chief Steve Achilles said the leak was caused by a machine that cools food batter. Two High Liner employees, who were working near the leak, were evaluated on scene by paramedics for "minor irritation" due to exposure. Otherwise, the evacuation went smoothly and emergency officials had the hazard under control within two hours. Finally, Oregon crab fishermen had an excellent year, says the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. The value the fishery at the dock was $51.044 million, a record for the state. 14.172 million pounds were landed. Oregon fishermen are in a sweet spot these days, with high prices for crab, and record prices for cold water shrimp writes John Sackton. The strength of crab landings for the coming year will not be known until after the season opens, as no survey is done on crab abundance. We also want to note the launch of our Seafood News Podcast channel on iTunes for Apple users and Google Play for all other devices. Subscribe to the podcast and listen to weekly recaps of our top stories straight from your phone. We'll also publish exclusive interviews with Urner Barry's seafood market reporters. Feedback on the content is welcome.