Alaska's Salmon Permit Values on the Decline Ahead of Summer Season The value of Alaska's salmon fishing permits is on the decline this year. Some say Alaska's poor season last year is pushing down the cost of the permits even though preseason forecasts for the upcoming 2017 harvest period are quite positive. "If you were involved in salmon last year you probably didn’t have a great year, unless you were in the bay. So there wasn’t a lot of extra money to pick up an extra permit or move into a different fishery and I think we’re seeing that," said Doug Bowen runs Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. Bowen says what’s needed to perk up salmon permit values is a good fishing season. The Russian government is considering increasing duties on exports of fish and seafood in an attempt to prevent massive exports of fish out of the country. Currently, duty rates on Rusian fish exports are set at 3 percent, however, the state could increase these rates up to 10 percent. Analysts at the Russian Ministry of Agriculture said this could prevent a surge in Russian fish exports to China where the fish is sold at a very cheap price. But Russian fisherman said the duty increase can make further fish production unprofitable and could result in fisherman leaving the business. In other news, the Washington State Department of Health closed commercial shellfish harvesting in six areas. State tests of the water quality in the Hood Canal, Annas Bay, North Bay, Rocky Bay, Swinomish and Port Susan showed high bacteria levels. State health officials are working with local public health and county partners as well as shellfish growers to implement plans to find and fix pollution problems in these areas. Alaska's Department of Fish and Game is poised to open the state’s largest herring fishery in Togiak after a few thousand tons of the fish were spotted from an aerial survey off the tip of Hagemeister Island. The state estimates 130,852 tons of herring this year, and the fishery can be opened when 35,000 tons have been documented on the grounds. “I’m thinking it’s the vanguard of fish starting to move in,” said ADF&G area management biologist Tim Sands. “My expectation at this point is over the next couple of days the biomass will build up. I’m hoping we can go Thursday and document threshold biomass and open up the fishery.” Finally, Japan surpassed the U.S. to become the biggest buyer of Vietnamese seafood in the first quarter of this year, according to the monthly report of Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.