Alaska salmon industry grapples with oversupply worsened by Russian catch
Alaska salmon industry grapples with oversupply worsened by Russian catch
Jared Danielson was having a slow day of salmon fishing off the Alaska Peninsula, the long finger of land jutting toward the Aleutian Islands. While his fishing net bobbed in the water, he had time for a quick boat tour, thanks to satellite internet. He pointed out his net, the beach and a little bag of salmon that he hoped would grow before the end of the day.
In a typical year, when salmon prices are high, a summer of hard work can net Danielson a six-figure profit. But this summer, he’s getting just 70 cents a pound — less than half of last year’s price. He’s not expecting to break even, he said.
“It’s a disaster. Worst season ever for pretty much everyone I’ve talked to.”
Alaska fishermen like Danielson have made record salmon harvests in recent years.
Last summer’s haul of sockeye was 75 million fish, an all-time high. This year’s catches are strong too.
But prices have cratered. Fish buyers blame the usual suspects of supply and demand — and in particular, Russian salmon exports seem to be part of the equation.
One big factor in the slump is that Alaska salmon are sold around the world.
Brody Pierson, who used to sell salmon on the global marketplace, said customers in Great Britain love canned sockeye.
“They’ll make salmon-cucumber sandwiches day in and day out,” he said. “That’s their PB&J.”
But global consumers are eating fewer of those sandwiches and other salmon products these days with the threat of an economic slowdown, Pierson said. On top of that, there’s a huge quantity of salmon left over from last year’s enormous harvest.
“There was no market to take all of that supply,” he said.
Speaking of supply, it’s not just Alaska fish that have been oversupplied this summer. Seafood processing companies have accused Russia of dumping its own record salmon catches into global markets to help pay for its war on Ukraine.
In spite of sanctions, some Russian fish exports still make it to the U.S. That’s because there’s a loophole that allows fish into the country if it’s first processed in China.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, has tried and so far failed to get Congress and the Joe Biden administration to crack down.
“The whole point of these sanctions was to go after the people who were supporting Putin, to let them feel pain,” Sullivan said in an interview. “The only people who are feeling pain right now are Alaskan fishermen.”
International fish sales are kind of like oil for Russia. Some economists said they generate cash the country can then use to pay for war supplies — things like drones from Iran or jet fighter parts from China.
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