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.

Wholesale prices for the May – August period were substantially improved from a year ago. Bristol Bay sockeye averaged $2.03 per pound, up from $1.64 per pound in 2004. Sockeye from non-Bristol-Bay fisheries averaged $2.20 per pound, up from $1.91 a year ago.

While prices for the May - August period are relatively strong, they represent less than half the frozen H&G pack. Approximately 60 million pounds of frozen sockeye was unsold as of September 1. Trade press reports that sales of sockeye in Japan slowed in September and October. If the Japan sockeye market remains stagnant, processors may have to reduce prices to move unsold inventory there, potentially eroding average wholesale price for the rest of the frozen H&G sockeye pack.

U.S. exports of frozen sockeye to Japan totaled 66 million pounds during May – August, representing about 58 percent of Alaska’s frozen H&G production. At this point it is not yet clear how much of the 51-million-pound ASPR sales volume from that period was sold in Japan.