For 17 years, Laine Welch has covered the Alaska "fish beat" for print and broadcast. She also has worked in seafood processing, and "behind the counter" in retail and wholesale seafood businesses. Before coming to Alaska in 1986, Laine was well known in New England for her daily radio broadcasts of fish prices and landings at auctions in Boston and New Bedford, MA. Laine's goal is to make all people aware of the economic and social importance of the seafood industry to Alaska and the nation - from harvesters and business professionals, to those who simply eat fish occasionally. Also read Laine's Fish Factor column
Copper River opens to high prices
Kodiak, Alaska
5/16/06
Alaska's 2006 salmon season is officially underway, as Copper River opens to record high prices.
The world's most famous salmon fishery opened yesterday at Copper River. It was great to be out on the water, but the first 12 hour fishery was cold and slow, says Jerry McCune from the fishing grounds
"Oh, it's pretty nice,nice weather,slow fishing, but the price is really good. We're just into it for a couple hours. It's pretty darn cold!"
Norquest Seafoods was the first to post prices for the first opener and they reached record highs - $3.75 a pound for sockeye salmon and a whopping $6.25 for kings. That compares to a starting price last year of $3.25 for reds and $5.25 for kings. McCune says there's lots of competition among buyers for the year's first fish from Copper River and wild salmon in general
"Oh yeah, there is lots of interest in wild salmon. Not just Copper River, but other wild salmon too."
A fleet of about five hundred gillnetters is out on the water. The projected catch for the first opener was 33-thousand reds and about 8-thouand kings, but the colder weather could keep those numbers down. In all, the Copper River catch is projected at just over one million sockeye salmon and 47-thousand kings.
Salmon fishing also continues on the Stikine River in Southeast Alaska. Other regions will begin opening to salmon fishing in early June. In all, Alaska's statewide all species forecast for 2006 is 160 million salmon, down from last year's record of 221 million fish.
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