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Togiak Herring Prices Still in Doubt

The price associated with Alaska’s largest herring fishery is apparently still in doubt. 

Earlier this week seafoodnews.com posted a story about the price negotiations for the herring harvested in the Togiak sac-roe herring fishery. Editor John Sackton reported that the price negotiations between the processors and the Japanese buyer are underway but both sides are apparently far apart on what they are offering.

One of the contributing factors appears to be the declining value of the yen. However, there are other factors at play including the larger harvest this year and continuing variability in the year-end herring roe gift packs, which are at the heart of the sac-roe market. Seafood News.com is reporting that Icicle is looking for a contract price of $900-dollars a ton to deliver herring to China for processing. Last year’s price was apparently $1.4-thousand dollars a ton.

The price being paid to the fishermen who actually caught the herring is still in doubt. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game included a price of $100-dollars a ton but the Department admitted that’s just a place-holder price and does not include the post-season adjustments that will come later this year once the processor’s price is settled. Last year Fish and Game included a price of $125-dollars a ton in their season summary and reportedly some processors settled out at around $200-dollars a ton.

This year fishermen in the Togiak sac-roe herring fishery hauled in over 28.8-thousand tons of herring. That’s way up from last year’s harvest of just over 17-thousand tons. This year’s fishery included 6-processors… Trident, Icicle, North Pacific, Ocean Beauty, Leader Creek, and Yard Arm Knot. 37-gillnetters wet some nets for herring along with 24-seiners.