bigshrimpin
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June 26, 2007
Salmon prices never been higher at $7 a pound
By TOM RAGAN
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER
If there's any bright side for fishermen to the on-again, off-again commercial salmon fishing these past few years, it's that the price of fresh caught salmon is finally coming around.
Salmon prices have never been higher, the California Department of Fish and Game reported Monday.
At last report, fresh salmon was going for $7 a pound off the boat, something of good news as hundreds of salmon fishermen in the Monterey Bay get ready to hit the open waters Saturday after a moratorium on catching the fish along much of the California coast during the past month.
"That's the highest price we've seen in a while, especially when you compare it to the $2 a pound it was fetching a few years ago," said Marc Heisdorf, a marine biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game in Santa Rosa.
But the high prices aren't good for the consumer who has a hankering for locally caught salmon.
Either the prices are too high or the salmon is nonexistent on the menu.
For the second year in a row, for example, Crow's Nest Restaurant in Santa Cruz has refrained from buying fresh salmon because it didn't want to charge in "the high $20s" for it, according to John Glass, a chef at the restaurant.
"The catch has been so small in numbers lately that we think it's probably better to just give our local salmon species a break for a little while, although I'm sure the fishermen wouldn't agree with me," said Glass.
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Such a dilemma has put some longtime fishermen in a bind, and many are deciding to cast their lines elsewhere after years of solely fishing for salmon in the open waters of the Pacific.
"When the season opens again in a few days, we're going to fish for albacore," said Kathy Fosmark, a third-generation salmon fisherman from Pebble Beach and president of the Fishermen's Association of Moss Landing.
She said she spent all of June getting her boat ready while the salmon moratorium was in effect, somewhat of a bummer considering June is the best season for salmon in the Monterey Bay.
"Believe me, they're out there," she said, referring to the salmon. "We just couldn't catch them. This is the only state that doesn't support its fisheries"
For two years now, commercial salmon fishing has been restricted up and down the coast in order to help restore the fall chinook runs, which have been dismally low in the last three in the Klamath River — less than 35,000 each year.
The reasons behind the low returns vary. Some say it's due to the poor water quality. Other say the water is too low in the river.
Whatever the reason, one fact has remained constant: federal authorities have created no-fishing zones in June from as far north as Bodega Bay to as far south as Point Sur to protect the chinook.
The end result has been bad business for salmon fishermen up and down the coast, leading to a shrinking number of commercial salmon fishermen as a whole.
According to Fish and Game, there are only 600 fishermen in California, down from 1,400 a year ago.
But environmentalists contend that once the fall chinook runs are restored and the population sees a boost, the fishing industry will improve.
Salmon prices never been higher at $7 a pound
By TOM RAGAN
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER
If there's any bright side for fishermen to the on-again, off-again commercial salmon fishing these past few years, it's that the price of fresh caught salmon is finally coming around.
Salmon prices have never been higher, the California Department of Fish and Game reported Monday.
At last report, fresh salmon was going for $7 a pound off the boat, something of good news as hundreds of salmon fishermen in the Monterey Bay get ready to hit the open waters Saturday after a moratorium on catching the fish along much of the California coast during the past month.
"That's the highest price we've seen in a while, especially when you compare it to the $2 a pound it was fetching a few years ago," said Marc Heisdorf, a marine biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game in Santa Rosa.
But the high prices aren't good for the consumer who has a hankering for locally caught salmon.
Either the prices are too high or the salmon is nonexistent on the menu.
For the second year in a row, for example, Crow's Nest Restaurant in Santa Cruz has refrained from buying fresh salmon because it didn't want to charge in "the high $20s" for it, according to John Glass, a chef at the restaurant.
"The catch has been so small in numbers lately that we think it's probably better to just give our local salmon species a break for a little while, although I'm sure the fishermen wouldn't agree with me," said Glass.
Advertisement
Such a dilemma has put some longtime fishermen in a bind, and many are deciding to cast their lines elsewhere after years of solely fishing for salmon in the open waters of the Pacific.
"When the season opens again in a few days, we're going to fish for albacore," said Kathy Fosmark, a third-generation salmon fisherman from Pebble Beach and president of the Fishermen's Association of Moss Landing.
She said she spent all of June getting her boat ready while the salmon moratorium was in effect, somewhat of a bummer considering June is the best season for salmon in the Monterey Bay.
"Believe me, they're out there," she said, referring to the salmon. "We just couldn't catch them. This is the only state that doesn't support its fisheries"
For two years now, commercial salmon fishing has been restricted up and down the coast in order to help restore the fall chinook runs, which have been dismally low in the last three in the Klamath River — less than 35,000 each year.
The reasons behind the low returns vary. Some say it's due to the poor water quality. Other say the water is too low in the river.
Whatever the reason, one fact has remained constant: federal authorities have created no-fishing zones in June from as far north as Bodega Bay to as far south as Point Sur to protect the chinook.
The end result has been bad business for salmon fishermen up and down the coast, leading to a shrinking number of commercial salmon fishermen as a whole.
According to Fish and Game, there are only 600 fishermen in California, down from 1,400 a year ago.
But environmentalists contend that once the fall chinook runs are restored and the population sees a boost, the fishing industry will improve.
