Tag Archives: Copper River Seafoods
Wondering where the fish have gone
Howard Kantner watches for hits on the net.
KOTZEBUE — It’s raining again, the wind rising and waves sloshing over the grass. I’m yanking at corkline, struggling to stack my salmon nets into old army totes, to protect them from mice and weather for another winter. Commercial fishing in Kotzebue Sound is closed, over before it really started. A complete bust, exponentially worse than any in the past 51 years I’ve participated in this fishery. Catches were dismal in July and many of us assumed — or tried to believe — that the run was late. Rumors swirled around town: about beluga whales, killer whales, warm water, cold water, and villagers up the Noatak and Kobuk rivers catching runs we’d allegedly missed. I didn’t believe it and kept hoping the dearth of fish was tied to changes some of us have noticed over the decades: how the peak of the run has been arriving later and later in August. Our last best season, two years ago, was slow in July, and in August more salmon flooded in than we’d seen before. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:05
Fit for a king: First Copper River king salmon of season arrives in Anchorage
It all started with a kiss and, well, kind of ended with a kiss: The first fish were alive just 24 hours before it arrived at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. “First fresh salmon coming out of the state ahead of Bristol Bay,” said Jeff Munro, a cargo operations manager. “The Copper River salmon is a real special salmon. It’s a special breed and species. It has a higher oil content.” Box after box of fresh fish came off the jet in Anchorage Tuesday afternoon. The first one got a special trip down a red carpet laid out for all to see. “Copper River salmon really marks the beginning of Alaska’s summer salmon season,” said Cassandra Squibb with Copper River Seafoods. Video, >click to read< 07:59
Copper River Seafoods not buying Cook Inlet salmon amid declining harvests
Another seafood processor is moving out of Kenai this salmon season. Copper River Seafoods is ending its run in the old Snug Harbor Seafood plant, leaving one major salmon processor in the area but promising the addition of a new company soon. Processors like Copper River buy catch from commercial fishermen and bring that catch to market. As commercial fishermen have dealt with declining salmon runs and management changes, processors from Kenai to Homer have left, too, leaving fishermen with fewer options. >click to read< 08:53
To the editor: Thank you, fish processors
The 2020 commercial fishing season will go down in the history books. In March and April, the prospect of executing statewide fisheries was in question amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and even communities that rely upon fisheries as their economic drivers were pressing for partial or complete closures. Cordova and the opening of the Copper River District were in the spotlight as the first Alaskan salmon fishery to come on line for the summer salmon season. by Dennis Zadra >click to read< 19:44
Slow going for the Copper River opener
A 12-hour opener marking the start of the 2020 Copper River commercial salmon season proved slow going, with a catch of 1,650 Chinook and 1,500 sockeye salmon, down from 2,300 kings and 20,400 reds in the 2019 opener. Prices for the catch were also down, due to lack of demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, with upscale restaurants that normally feature Copper River entrees following the start of the fishery still closed. Even with fewer fishermen on the grounds, it was tough going. One veteran harvester said his 12-hour effort produced a total of five fish. Worries over a potential low price for the prized fish, coupled with concerns that the novel coronavirus pandemic might stop the fishery lowered the competition for the fish, said Cordova Mayor Clay Koplin, who calculated that as much of one fourth of the fleet never left the harbor. >click to read< 08:34
How much Bristol Bay processors will pay for salmon
The question on every Bristol Bay fisherman’s mind at this point in the season is base price: How much cash am I going to get for my salmon? A few Bristol Bay processors said they’re still waiting on their corporate headquarters to release prices, but here’s what we do know as of Tuesday: On Monday, Copper River Seafoods raised its price from $1.30 to $1.70 per pound for chilled, bled and separated sockeye only. Kings larger than 11 pounds bring in $3 per pound, and smaller kings go for $2 a pound. Copper River is paying 80 cents per pound on silvers, 45 cents per pound on chum and 30 cents per pound for pinks. Trident Seafoods is paying,,, >click to read<11:02
Yes, Copper River Seafoods just posted a preseason price. And yes, it’s encouraging.
Up to $1.25 for “Excelent Fish” caught this week, going out fresh to a market that is hungry for the product, says CRS. Company says it intends to post a price every Sunday for the week ahead. Copper River Seafoods Bristol Bay manager Vojtech Novak posted a price for this week’s sockeye catch, and says he intends to post a weekly price every Sunday. It’s an unusual step for one of Bristol Bay’s buyers to list a price before the catch comes in. “You know, the owner of our company was a fisherman, and he feels like he’s still a fisherman,” said Novak. “His dream was always to know the price before going fishing, and we’re trying to work on that and give our fishermen a price. Before they go fish, they know what they’re getting.” Read the rest here 13:10
Copper River Seafood’s Withdraws Support for MSC
Another large seafood processor has withdrawn support for the effort to get Alaska’s commercially caught salmon recertified by the Marine Stewardship Council. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the details. 23:56
Copper River Seafoods Does the Right Thing by Thumbing Their Noses at the MSC
Copper River Seafoods plans to withdraw support for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of the Alaska salmon fishery in 2014, leaving Silver Bay Seafoods as the only remaining large processor still in support. This is the latest blow to the efforts of the Seattle-based Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association (PSVOA) to get the fishery re-certified to the MSC standard, which the top eight salmon processing companies — Trident Seafoods, Icicle Seafoods, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Peter Pan Seafoods, Alaska General Seafoods, E & E Foods, Kwikpak Fisheries, and North Pacific Seafoods — all oppose. read more here 20:00
