The Southeast Alaska winter troll fishery for king salmon opened October 1, 2006 and will continue through April 30, 2007 or until the quota of 45,000 fish is caught.

Ex-vessel prices in the fishery are at record levels. Region average ex-vessel price has remained above $8 per pound since early December and the average price for week 5 (end of January) was $9.20 per pound, the highest ever. With average fish size of 14.9 pounds, ex-vessel value is $137 per fish.

Scarcity is clearly a factor in the record-high prices of recent weeks. Unusually tough Fall weather and the typical slow fishing in the Winter months have kept total harvest at just under 9,000 fish for the season, about half the 5-year average. Region-total landings have exceeded 500 fish in only one week since November, and have been less than 200 fish in 4 of the last 8 weeks.

Still, ex-vessel prices from the peak landings month of October indicate a robust market, beyond the effects of scarcity. Despite total landings of more than 5,300 fish in October, region-average price climbed from $5.29 to $6.54 per pound during the month.