Bristol Bay Fishermen Consider Asking for State's Help on Salmon Prices
Bristol Bay’s salmon fishermen may submit a petition asking ADF&G to act as a mediator between them and the state’s processors to negotiate better prices for the 2015 catch. The petition invokes an Alaskan state status that says if there’s a price dispute between at least one-third of the registered commercial fishermen and fish processors, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development will mediate upon the request of either party. The statue has been used in Alaska before but never for the salmon fishery. Major processors paid out about 50 cents per pound this summer, and while some fishermen received icing or chilling and bleeding bonuses, no one reported receiving adjustments to that base price by early November.
The indefinite delay to California’s commercial Dungeness crab fishing season could benefit Canadian crabbers operating in British Columbia. High levels of the domoic acid biotoxin forced a state decision last week to shut down the commercial season until further notice. A lengthy California closure could hurt Dungeness crab sales during the busy Thanksgiving period and also threatens the Christmas and overseas holiday buying seasons. This is where BC crabbers could see an increase in demand and sales for their Dungeness inventories.
An ADF&G forecast predicted Southeast Alaska’s 2016 pink salmon harvest to be around 34 million fish. According to Peggy Parker this puts next year’s projected harvest exactly at this year’s total, which is still below the ten-year average catch. Still, the expected volume is considered a strong year for the fishery according to ADF&G rankings.
Finally, the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh announced a new policy to increase its capacity to process more value-added seafood products. Andhra Pradesh’s plan is an attempt to meet overseas demand for value-added seafood on its own, and curb its dependency on exporting its raw seafood materials to domestic states for further processing.
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