Bristol Bay Ak, Icicle Seafoods in the spotlight with many thankful fishermen and their families. Icicle Seafoods posted a head of most in 2019, being first buyer at Bristol Bay to post base prices for sockeye at $1.35 a pound, such good news for fishermen – up from the average $1.26 last season, and $.40 for chums, an increase of 4 cents. After a long hot, abnormally warm season in the bay this good news is well deserved.
Alaska General Seafoods, North Pacific Seafoods and Peter Pan Seafoods at Bristol Bay also have posted a sockeye base of $1.35. – More follow the lead of Icicle Seafoods in Bristol Bay. More scuttlebut includes: KDLG out of Dillingham reported that Icicle will also be paying 15 cent bonuses for iced or RSW fish for both drift and setnetters, plus 8 cents more for chilled/bled, and a 5-cent premium for floated fish. All told, that’s $1.63 per pound for sockeyes at Bristol Bay. Great news on these hot days.
Kodiak prices have taken a slip at $1.45 for sockeyes, $.27 for pinks and $.25 for chums. Compared to last year’s averages of $1.56, $.39 and $.51. In Cook Inlet, sockeye prices are reported at $1.70, down from $2.27. This is a big yikes in decline compared to last season.
Southeast Alaska trollers are averaging $5.13 a pound for kings, $1.56 for silvers and $.61 for chums, according to fish tickets. Prices for seine and gillnet salmon were reported at $.55 for chums, down from $.90; sockeyes at $1.90, a drop of six cents, and $.30 for pinks, down from $.38 per pound on average from last season, summer of 2018.
Norton Sound, chum prices are at $.50 were down from $.80, and coho at $1.40 was the same as last year. All and all fishermen/fisherwomen are either wrapped up already in Bristol Bay and or in SE they still have a little more than a month left to set their nets in the abnormal heat that is still brightening their long sunny days.
EAT FRESH – BUY WILD!