We are pleased to offer you the first edition of ASMI���s Seafood Market Bulletin. The
Bulletin is provided to the Alaska seafood industry by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, as part of its market reporting and analysis program, the Seafood Market Information Service. This program, which is executed for ASMI by the McDowell Group, has recently been expanded from coverage of salmon market information to include many of Alaska���s key seafood species: groundfish species, such as pollock and cod, crab, halibut and sablefish, as well as salmon. READ MORE
Alaska���s Bering Sea crab fisheries got underway on October 15, with increased quotas and a new management regime. King, opilio, and Tanner crab fisheries opened concurrently, under new regulations established with the rationalization of the crab fisheries, which went into place with the 2005/2006 harvest season. With the king crab guideline harvest levels (GHLs) up 19 percent from last year, opilio GHLs up 79 percent, and the Tanner fishery open for the first time since 1996, the volumes of crab moving out of the Bering Sea in coming months will be significantly increased.
Harvesters in Alaska���s pollock fishery had landed more than 90 percent of this year���s
total allowable catch by October 15. Effort was decreasing in Gulf of Alaska fisheries due to poor weather and high fuel prices, according to fishery managers. In the Bering Sea, boats were expected to keep fishing up to the regulatory closure of the fishery on November 1. Harvests in both areas were expected to fall short of the total allowable catch (TAC). Overall, 3.2 billion pounds of pollock had been harvested from the Bering Sea, and an additional 138 million from the Gulf of Alaska. READ MORE
As of September, the 2005 Alaska salmon harvest is 214 million salmon, the third-largest on record and only slightly below the top harvest of 217 million set in 1995. A record pink salmon catch and strong sockeye harvest were major contributors to the near-record. Chinook and coho both came in slightly under projection, while the statewide chum harvest was short of projection by one-third. READ MORE
Alaska Department of Revenue released the May-August 2005 Alaska Salmon Price Report (ASPR) October 19. The ASPR covers wholesale volume and first wholesale value, by species and area, for six key Alaska salmon products. ���First wholesale��� is defined as the first sale by a processor to a buyer outside their affiliate network. The report as published by Department of Revenue is specific to area but is summarized into a statewide table here. READ MORE
Pack estimates in this issue of the bulletin are preliminary, as statewide harvest figures are not yet finalized and average fish size not yet available. These pack estimates (and resulting inventory figures) will be corrected in later bulletins as more specific data becomes available. READ MORE
Canned pink sales volume was unusually light during May ��� August 2005, likely the result of higher case prices. Sales totaled 505,000 48-tall equivalent, down 40 percent from the five-year average of 840,000 cases for the period. Average 48-tall case price during May ��� August 2005 was $41.32, a 4-year high point. READ MORE
Based on estimates of canned sockeye production and on sales figures for fresh sockeye products, we estimate that approximately 110 - 115 million pounds of frozen H&G sockeye was produced from the 2005 harvest. Through August, pace of sales appears somewhat slower than a year ago, with 51 million pounds (about 45 percent) having been sold outside of processors��� affiliate networks. At the end of August 2004, 55 million pounds (62 percent of 2004 production) had been sold. READ MORE
The Seafood Market Information Service is funded by a portion of the seafood marketing tax paid by Alaska seafood processors. McDowell Group provides the service as a contractor to Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI).
The Seafood Market Bulletin is currently published six times a year and is available online to permit holders, processors, and other industry participants free of charge. Sign up to receive email notification of the publication of new Seafood Market Bulletins.
Juneau Office
Mail: P.O. Box 21009
Juneau, Alaska 99802
Phone: 907-586-6126
Fax: 907-586-2673
Anchorage Office
1400 W. Benson Blvd,
Ste 350
Anchorage, AK 99503
Phone: 907-243-3200
Fax: 907-274-3201
