Wild salmon at $40 a pound?

Date: April 09/08 | Author: Apenner

SEATTLE, April 8, 2008 -- Will this be the year we see fishmongers charging $40 a pound for salmon?

Some fear that the answer is yes, given the ominous signs: Federal officials are meeting near Seattle this week to slash or even halt salmon fishing off California and Oregon. Washington's salmon catch also looks iffy, prompting Gov. Chris Gregoire this week to contemplate calling for emergency federal aid.

And Alaska's bountiful wild salmon catch is expected to be trimmed by one-third from last year's bumper harvest.

Overall, expect a boost in prices for the famously cyclical catch of wild salmon, say government officials and fishing-industry observers. That's particularly true for the highly sought-after chinook -- or king -- salmon, whose numbers in California collapsed this year.

"All the California markets don't have fish, and they (will be) saying, 'We'll buy that fish for a dollar more a pound,' " said Craig Bowhay, an analyst with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

"For a piece of the action, you're going to have to pay."

It's simple economics: With few or no salmon coming from Oregon and California, and Washington's catch constrained by the need to protect runs under the Endangered Species Act, the overall salmon catch will be smaller.

Meanwhile, demand has skyrocketed -- to the point that even the lowly chum salmon, which once sold for perhaps $1 a pound or even $1 a fish, is now routinely going for $3 a pound or more.

"America has become a nation of salmon eaters," said Laura Fleming, communications director for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

But once Alaska's commercial salmon fisheries kick into high gear next month, there will be salmon available.

More than 90 percent of North America's wild salmon harvest comes from Alaska. While the salmon catch there is being slashed by about 35 percent from last year, 2007 marked Alaska's fourth-biggest salmon catch ever.

For 2008, "we're looking for a very healthy year," said Mike Plotnick, an analyst with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, who emphasized that Alaska's first priority is letting enough fish get past the nets to preserve abundant runs.

But you'll pay more. In the last few weeks, with just a limited winter fishery in gear, at least one Seattle market was selling wild chinook for $32.95 a pound. Even in Juneau, practically on top of the winter fishery, Fleming recently forked out $26 a pound, she said.

Read the full article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.