While salmon permit shares slide, those for halibut and black cod soar

The values of Alaska salmon permits are sliding, while prices for quota shares of other catches continue skyrocketing.

Despite an optimistic outlook this year for Alaska salmon catches and markets, buyers and sellers are feeling a hangover from last year's tough season.

"If you were involved in salmon last year, you probably didn't have a great year unless you were in Bristol Bay. 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 of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer.

"It's a slower market this year," agreed Jeff Osborn of Dock Street Brokers in Seattle.

At the bellwether sockeye salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, drift permits have slumped below $135,000 since last fall.

"We've had several sales at $129,000 and listings at $125,000. So, for whatever reason, those have slipped by about $10,000 in the last few weeks," Bowen said.

But they've been lower, too — around $112,000 after the 2015 season when sockeye prices dropped to 50 cents a pound.

Southeast drift permits have dropped slightly to the $83,000 range. Prince William Sound drift permits are now trading closer to $150,000 after topping $165,000 last year.

"It's supposed to be a great year there, but we're not seeing it reflected in those prices," Bowen said.

Cook Inlet drift gillnetters have had several lousy fishing years and this year is looking bleak. However, a new rule to allow permit stacking has boosted interest in permits there. A Cook Inlet drifter can now hold two permits in his name and fish the extra gear. It's the first drift gillnet fleet in the state to be able to do so.

"That propped up that value from a low of $33,000 and they are trading right now for around $45,000," Bowen said, adding that the permit price is still down considerably from $90,000 just a few years ago.

The lowest value seine card is at Kodiak, reflecting a steady slide from $50,000 not long ago.

"We've sold a few at $25,000. That's the lowest salmon seine permit price anywhere in the state," Bowen said. "People can make good money there, but Kodiak is a tough salmon fishery."

The state forecast for Alaska's 2017 salmon catch is 204 million fish, nearly 1 million more than last year.

Soaring halibut share prices

Prices for Alaska halibut quota shares are exceptionally high.

"They're in the $70-per-pound range in Southeast and the $60 range in the Central Gulf (of Alaska)," said Doug Bowen.

Quota prices are approaching the $45 mark in the western Gulf, the $30 range for the Aleutian Islands fishery and in the teens for Bering Sea regions.

"It's just unheard of," he said.

Halibut quota share prices have gone up about $5 a year for several years as fish stocks appear to have stabilized. Dock prices for halibut also have remained high, often at $6 to $7 per pound at major ports.

Halibut quota shares are not selling fast at those prices, but Bowen points to more movement in small batches.

"It's almost a retail market for fishing quotas, where if a fella holds a fair amount, he will cut away a chunk of 1,000 pounds to be able to complete his boat projects or retire some debt," Bowen said.

Quota share prices for one of Alaska's most lucrative fish — black cod or sablefish — also are on an upswing. Shares in the Central Gulf region are at $29 per pound, an increase of $8 since last year. Black cod quota in Southeast Alaska has jumped to $35 per pound.

The increase is due in part to dock prices nearing $10 a pound for black cod at least 7 pounds.

"There was an increase in the TAC (total allowable catch), which was somewhat unexpected," said Dock Street's Osborn. "And, of course, pots."

Starting this year, fishermen can use large pots in the Gulf to keep whales from robbing their pricey black cod catches. "Getting whaled" can sometimes cost a boat up to half of its catch on hook and line gear.

Nearly 2,000 fishermen hold quota shares of halibut and black cod in Alaska.

Crab quota climbs

Alaska's Bering Sea crab fisheries also are managed under a catch-share system for a pool of roughly 400 "owning entities."

Prices per pound have gone up since the catch-share system began a dozen year ago, but during the same time, most crab catches have been reduced significantly.

Catch quotas for Bristol Bay red king crab are listed at $55 per pound; snow crab at $16 to $28 per pound, and tanners at $8 to $13 per pound.

"Sales have been much more limited," Osborn said, adding that there "certainly is a fair bit of consolidation" in the crab fisheries.

"It's subject to the same influences as black cod and halibut," he added. "Guys might be interested in selling, but you're looking at a catch that's been cut by 50 to 70 percent over the past few years — or reduced to nothing — they're not too keen on selling when everything looks down despite the higher prices."

Uncertainty over new rules coming for some crab quota holders also has stalled the market. Crew or skippers who own shares but do not have "active participation" in the crab fishery (or another Alaska fishery) by June 30, 2018, will not receive their quota shares for the 2018-19 season. If they do not participate by June 30, 2019, their quota is revoked.

"In the past, once certain quota purchase requirements were fulfilled, they did not need to stay active in the fishery. That is changing," Osborn explained. "There are a lot of guys who have participated in the fishery all their lives and are now retired. They are being forced to either get back in the fishery, even on a minimal basis, or they will have to sell their quota or lose it."

60,000 work in seafood

Tidbits from the 2016 annual report of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

*About 60,000 people, mostly Alaskans, work in the state's seafood industry. More than half (31,580) are fishermen, operating 8,600 vessels and delivering their catches to 176 processing plants around the state.

*A third of Alaska's resident commercial fishermen live in Anchorage or elsewhere in Southcentral, more than any other region of the state.

*Pollock remains Alaska's biggest catch, topping 3 billion pounds last year. Salmon came was the most valuable catch last year, topping $540 million.

*China is the top export customer for Alaska seafood, followed by Japan, Europe, Canada and Brazil.

Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based commercial fishing columnist. Contact her at msfish@alaskan.com.