Rock-bottom Bristol Bay salmon prices anger fishermen

Alaska's major seafood-processing companies have finally announced what they will pay for Bristol Bay sockeye this season, and the news is not good for fishermen.

Both Peter Pan and Trident Seafoods sent messages to their fishing fleets announcing what their base prices are less than half what they were in 2022. . Those messages, viewed by SeafoodSource, indicate both companies will pay a base price of just USD 0.50 (EUR 0.44) for 2023 Bristol Bay sockeye.

That price is one of the lowest in the last 20 years, according to data collected by the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA). The last time the ex-vessel price was USD 0.50 was in 2015, and only one other year – 2004 – was close to that level at USD 0.51. It is also less than half of the USD 1.15 (EUR 1.02) base price offered in 2022, per BBRSDA data.

BBRSDA Executive Director Andy Wink told SeafoodSource the big drop in price has understandably upset fishermen. 

"Bristol Bay fishermen are livid and shocked at the USD 0.50 base price,” he said. “Many boats quit fishing in disgust. Fishermen costs are up, just like everybody else, but they are absorbing a smaller projected harvest and a 57 percent drop in base ex-vessel price."

This year also marks a shift in pricing announcements back to ... 

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