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Bristol Bay Driftnet Permit Values Up Again

Mike Mason

The value placed on Bristol Bay driftnet permits is up again. The latest monthly permit values report from the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission puts the value of a Bristol Bay driftnet permit at $133-thousand dollars. That’s up from the $127-thousand dollar value recorded back in December and is way up compared to the $89.3-thousand dollar value recorded in February of last year. The value of a Bristol Bay driftnet permit is the highest it’s been in recent years and the value has risen every month for the last year. The value placed on permits by CFEC is different than the asking price for permits on the open market. Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer reports that a Bristol Bay driftnet permit was sold back in December for $140-thousand dollars and they have permits listed for sale with asking prices ranging from $165-thousand to $185-thousand dollars. Dock Street Brokers reports a pending sale of a Bristol Bay driftnet permit at $145-thousand dollars with another permit reported as sold at $135-thousand dollars. They have another permit listed as “For Sale” at $160-thousand dollars. Permit Master also has a permit listed for sale at $160-thousand dollars. While the value of Bristol Bay driftnet permits has been going up for the last year the same can’t be said for some of the other driftnet fisheries across Alaska. The value placed on a Southeast driftnet permit last month was $101.8-thousand dollars. That’s down from the $118-thousand dollar value recorded in July through October. The value placed on a Prince William Sound driftnet permit was $201.9-thousand dollars. That’s down from the value of $206.4-thousand dollars recorded back in October. The value placed on a Cook Inlet driftnet permit was $82.3-thousand dollars in January. That’s way down from the $93.8-thousand dollar value recorded back in September. The value placed on Alaska Peninsula driftnet permits last month was $77.8-thousand dollars. That’s way down from the $90-thousand dollar value recorded in February of last year. While Bristol Bay driftnet permit values have been going up for the last year, the same cannot be said for setnet permits in the Bay. The value placed on those permits by CFEC last month was $36.5-thousand dollars. That’s the lowest value recorded in the last 12-months and its way down from the $41.3-thousand dollar value recorded in February of last year. However, the monthly permit value report from CFEC does show some movement with other setnet permit values. For instance… for the last few months the value of Prince William Sound permits has been placed at $119.3-thousand dollars. That’s way up from the $61-thousand dollar value recorded from February through August. The value put on a Cook Inlet setnet permit is $13.4-thousand dollars. That’s down from the $15.5-thousand dollar value recorded in February of last year. Some of the largest increases in permit values in Alaska are in the purse seine fisheries. Prince William Sound permits were valued at $199.3-thousand dollars last month. That’s way up from the $190.3-thousand dollar value recorded in December and is way up compared to the $147.9-thousand dollar value recorded in February of last year. Chignik purse seine permits were valued last month at $186.3-thousand dollars. That’s way up compared to the $97.6-thousand dollar value recorded in February of last year. The highest valued permits tracked by the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission are the Southeast herring purse seine permits. The value recorded last month was $430-thousand dollars. You can find information about the values placed on State of Alaska commercial fishing permits on the website of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.