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The Highliner

Commercial fishing is a bedrock industry in Alaska, and has been for more than a century. Every year scores of fishermen net millions of migrating salmon, challenge the icy Bering Sea to trap king crabs, lay miles and miles of baited hooks for halibut, and scoop up enough pollock for a zillion fish sticks. And when fishermen aren't out fishing, they're usually talking about fishing. That's what this blog is all about. Cast your net here for commercial fishing news and notes. And if you've got a bone to pick, post a comment.

About me:
I've pounded the commercial fishing beat for the Anchorage Daily News since 1999. I hail originally from Tennessee. I've never fished commercially, but I've spent much time as a journalist aboard boats and inside fish-processing plants. Of course, I'm a big consumer of Alaska seafood. One of my favorites: canned sockeye.

Contact Wesley Loy at wloy@adn.com.

Bristol Bay bounty

Posted by The Highliner

Posted: July 13, 2008 - 11:59 pm

Canneries keep busy at Bristol Bay. Marc Lester photo

I know we've had catch limits and some processors have even suspended buying at times, but the Bristol Bay salmon harvest is looking pretty dang strong this season.

The tally through Saturday stood at 23,715,643 sockeye!

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecast a catch of 31.4 million fish, and we might come close to that.

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1 July 14, 2008 - 2:04am | AlitakKid

Do the Math

Let's see:

23,715,643 sockeye x 5 pounds each = 118,578,215 pounds

Possible ex-vessel prices:

118.5 million pounds @ $1.50 a pound = $177,867,000

118.5 million pounds @ $1.00 a pound = $118,578,215

118.5 million pounds @ $0.60 a pound = $71,146,929

Now we know that at least 30% of the pack still goes in the can (which processors cry drives the low price in the bay). So you take away 30%, which makes for 83,004,750 pounds of sockeye left for the freezer.

Take that 83,004,750 pounds and fillet it (and don't count the eggs), and you get about a 60% recovery, or 49,802,850 pounds of fillet.

So you are in the market to sell fillets. All winter long in Seattle I saw Alaska sockeye fillets at retail for $12.00 a pound. Work 40% back for the retail mark-up (yes, that is the average mark up by big retailers), and you get a wholesale/distributor price of $7.20 a pound for sockeye fillet.

So let's take that fillet production figure (not counting the eggs that went for sujiko, or the 30% of the pack that went to cans), that's 49,802,850 x $7.20 = $358,580,520

So, even if you paid the harvesters $1.50 a pound for their fish, you would still clear $180,713,520, not counting the eggs, and the 30% to the canned pack.

So guys, what is the price to the harvesters going to be? They would like to know if they can afford to pay their mortgage AND buy their kids Christmas presents this year, after they get done paying $6.00 plus a gallon for fuel this year.....

July 15, 2008 - 12:01pm | Observermp

With those calculations...

it is clear you should get into the processing business next year. Your business partners have already chimed in below.

If you're right, think of the money you'll earn and all the friends you'll make by paying high prices.

If you're wrong, think of the valuable lessons you'll learn.

July 15, 2008 - 8:08am | Sheridan_Sheraton

The man in the suit has just

The man in the suit
has just bought a new car
with the profit he made off your dreams.

July 14, 2008 - 7:47pm | staufen

Be careful, Palin might read this.

Hey Kid - it sounds like you escaped from some processor's accounting office. If the governor reads this it could lead to some revenue investigations.

Heard that on KDLG radio today some fisherman talked about paying his processor 19% interest on what he borrowed to go fishing. Wonder if that guy (and the governor too) remember my writings on Lender Liability? When a processor becomes a subsidiary finance corporation and a fishermen a borrower, it creates an entirely different set of legal relationships and obligations.

The lender must share superior information with the borrower that could affect the ability to repay the loan, etc. And it would generally violate banking laws for the lender to restrict that borrower from say selling to a cash buyer paying a higher price, thereby making him more likely to pay off that loan. These are "pattern law" cases, and often carry huge court awards if the lender is found to have acted in bad faith etc. and harmed his borrower.

19% - dang, that's usury isn't it? Do the loan sharks break fingers if payments aren't made on time, too?

July 18, 2008 - 7:26am | Man_from_Unk

Holy Cow - 19% interest

The last I heard up our way in the Norton Sound is that the fishermen are paying 2% to NSEDC, Norton Sound's CDQ group. Thanks for the insight on "Lender Liability" because some guys fishing are not financially astute so that puts them in the palm of the smart guys. Big guys, little guys and then there is us poor guys who just want a few fish for food.

And, I do hope and pray that Governor Palin has someone reading this fishing blog. If she is truly a fisher, she should be reading it herself. Alaska's Joan of Arc?

July 17, 2008 - 10:41pm | nushagakred

staufen - renaissance man (or woman)

is there anything you haven't done? what is your current position? really, what DO you DO for a living?

you're now handing out banking advice because you heard a comment on KDLg! And your writings on Lender Liability become key reading for the Governor to help her straighten this out.

head to the bay dude, set up a tent, 'loan advice fer free'.

my god, you forgot to mention illegal transfer pricing in this post. yer slippin' dude.

July 18, 2008 - 6:23pm | north5520

living in denial

your post shows how stupid you are. obviously you know nothing about Mr. Taufen and what he is doing for America's fisheries. You must be big business trying to pull crap like this,or else you are really stupid and reside somewhere else but Alaska

July 18, 2008 - 7:35am | Man_from_Unk

Thanks to staufen

Thanks to staufen for being straight forward on the fishery issues we're having in Alaska. I'm learning a lot from him and I appreciate that. Blog on staufen.

July 18, 2008 - 10:05pm | peter1

If I recall there was a

If I recall there was a Frederick Barbarosa in the Staufen line.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenstaufen

What is going on in Alaska's corporate fisheries now is going on across the entire country. Corporate corruption is not just isolated to Alaska: take a look at the national mortgage crisis and bank bail outs. This pandemic is spread from Maine to Alaska. The North can hide longer and get in deeper sh_t as a result, probably why the Feds arrived there first.

Catch Moyers 7/18 interview of economics historian William Greider. Greider uncovers the root of the current housing mess to laws passed in 1980. And believes we move toward Corporation Government. His new book, "Come Home America".

Staufen rings the bell for Alaska to watch out - but the whole country is suspect, involved on a much larger scale: see the gutting of Cleveland as the Federal Reserve Bank refused assistance.

Staufen can raise awareness for Alaskans, but keep in mind - the problems there are 100% tied to all U.S. policies, past and present, with a dollop of geographic isolation thrown in to boot.

http://www.hueylong.com/programs/share-our-wealth.php

July 25, 2008 - 3:18pm | nushagakred

Frederick Barbarosa no, Don Quixote yes

Interesting you would compare staufen to Barbarosa, a corrupt politician involved in a more corrupt church and a guy who ultimately failed to accomplish what he set out to do. Maybe they are distant relatives, as peter1 implies.

I think Gordon Lightfoot actually wrote a song about staufen, below.

Don Quixote, G. Lightfoot

Through the woodland, through the valley
Comes a horseman wild and free
Tilting at the windmills passing
Who can the brave young horseman be
He is wild but he is mellow
He is strong but he is weak
He is cruel but he is gentle
He is wise but he is meek
Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a battered book into his hand
Standing like a prophet bold
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Till he can shout no more

I have come o’er moor and mountain
Like the hawk upon the wing
I was once a shining knight
Who was the guardian of a king
I have searched the whole world over
Looking for a place to sleep
I have seen the strong survive
And I have seen the lean grown weak

See the children of the earth
Who wake to find the table bare
See the gentry in the country
Riding off to take the air

Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a rusty sword into his hand
Then striking up a knightly pose
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Till he can shout no more

See the jailor with his key
Who locks away all trace of sin
See the judge upon the bench
Who tries the case as best he can
See the wise and wicked ones
Who feed upon life’s sacred fire
See the soldier with his gun
Who must be dead to be admired

See the man who tips the needle
See the man who buys and sells
See the man who puts the collar
On the ones who dare not tell
See the drunkard in the tavern
Stemming gold to make ends meet
See the youth in ghetto black
Condemned to life upon the street

Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a tarnished cross into his hand
Then standing like a preacher now
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Then in a blaze of tangled hooves
He gallops off across the dusty plain
In vain to search again
Where no one will hear

July 25, 2008 - 9:18pm | peter1

Here's some more amusing

Here's some more amusing Barbarosa trivia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Monument_barbarossa.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyffh%C3%A4user_Monument

Are you from Nushagak? The last man to sail Bristol Bay gillnetters in the '50's was 84, from Nushagak, Combine Creek. Buried in Washington. I think you'd have a hard time proving that Barbarosa was actually corrupt, but give it a try.

July 26, 2008 - 8:06am | nushagakred

Freddy the Red

Barbarosa is remembered as a great warrior and peacemaker. He is credited with negotiating the Peace of Constance with the Lombard League, his more powerful enemy. What did Freddy get in this negotiated
"Peace"? He gained recognition as Holy Roman Emporer.

Barbarossa then claimed special rights reserved for the King, which caused conflicts with the Church. When Pope Victor IV, who crowned him emperor in Rome on 1155, died, Barbarossa lost clerical support in Germany. Included in the special rights which Barbarossa claimed was his authority over the Church. As a result of this he reserved the rights to appoint bishops as well as control Church lands and funds. Unfortunately, Barbarossa often appointed bishops who were politicians first and churchmen second. Barbarossa failed in trying to select a pope who was favorable to his causes and in 1177 he finally recognized Alexander III as the Pope.

while he is remembered as a great warrior he drowned after falling off his horse in battle. Some believe his spirit is still alive.

With his style he could be Governor of Alaska!

July 26, 2008 - 9:41am | peter1

If you're pulling this off

If you're pulling this off the internet you might want to cite it.

So far you haven't proven anything about corruption; in fact you haven't even mentioned it. It sounds like Barbarosa was a typical emperor: so, how does his corruption differ from all other emperors'?

I don't think he'd settle for governor.

Try Catherine the Great now, another German ruler. See how she was involved in typical corrupt actions to split Europe, enslaving its' peoples and Alaska's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_II_of_Russia

Establishment of Nushagak's early Russian redoubt was begun by her.

July 26, 2008 - 1:47pm | nushagakred

OK peter1

Here you are with links to wikipedia questioning me about pulling things off the internet and asking for cites! That's hilarious.

Try the on-line library, since that's where you've been looking. start with "From Charlemagne to Frederick Barbarossa", edited by Rossiter Johnson

Or stick with Wikipedia and hope that whoever is adding content knows what they are talking about.

Or believe what is convenient for you, whatever.

July 26, 2008 - 4:01pm | peter1

Actually, I was raised

Actually, I was raised before the internet when we had to crack the books, spend days looking for facts. You are still in fault by not citing your references. I can do one better and go to the Russian sources for you, and you can translate them - or German for that matter.

You still have presented no evidence that Barbarosa was corrupt; nor any evidence that his affairs were any different than any other empire-builder (including Catherine the Great, whose work helped establish your "redoubt" on Nushagak. Obviously your an expert at this - what's the fort's name, who established it, and what did it serve? We can go on and on and on about your home).

July 26, 2008 - 9:50pm | nushagakred

Thank you peter1

Barbarossa's affairs were similar to other corrupt leaders over the ages, as you infer.

get some rest, you're arguing against yourself.

July 27, 2008 - 9:16am | peter1

Try "Russian America: The

Try "Russian America: The Great Alaskan Venture 1741-1867" by Hector Chevigny. This will help you on your quest to find corrupt leaders, and not just Russian ones, but American too.

July 26, 2008 - 7:43pm | peter1

I'll have to take up reading

I'll have to take up reading Rossiter Johnson - and be sure to cite HIS works.

R. Johnson, "The Hero of Manila: Dewey on the Mississippi and the Pacific":

http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/dewey_george.htm

"Pres. McKinley made Dewey first U.S. Navy Admiral, by Act of Congress, 1899."

USS Dewey:

http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/349.htm

USS Dewey Pearl Harbor report: http://www.history.navy.mil/docs/wwii/pearl/ph38.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Dewey_(DD-349)

July 26, 2008 - 7:55pm | peter1

Look here: "On 27 December

Look here:

"On 27 December 1942 (USS Dewey) got underway for duty in Alaskan waters. When Worden (DD-352) ran aground at Amchitka, Dewey attempted to tow her off the rocks, then aided in rescuing her survivors when stormy weather forced her abandonment."

-Wikipedia

You tell me the names of the three WWII Navy Commanders of the North Pacific, based out of Dutch Harbor ,and I'll give you a lollypop.

July 21, 2008 - 10:12am | Man_from_Unk

Thanks

I appreciate your links peter1 and I agree with you that the problems we are seeing are 100% tied to all U.S. policies, past and present. A dollar has been buying our lawmakers and probably still is. We've got some cleaning to do. Hopefully we'll sweep out Young and Stevens this fall. I don't care how long they've been representing Alaska and how great Ted is in bringing home the pork. Right is right and wrong is wrong and we didn't elect our representatives to look after themselves on the side.

July 21, 2008 - 9:31pm | peter1

Here is the Moyers' Journal

Here is the Moyers' Journal interview of William Greider, July 18:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07182008/watch2.html

Corruption, of course, isn't new though. Alaska canneries burned in high numbers in the '20's, when high-speed machinery was introduced, as owners looked for ways to collect on old insurance. Also, as I noted many months ago on Exxon deja vu: the sinking of the Princess Sophia took 20 years in court, before defendant Canadian Pacific Railroad put a stop to all payments, mere pennies per casualty. The 1918 sinking caused an economic depression in Alaska, and RR money made sure not a penny more was lost, 1938. That doesn't stop.

July 22, 2008 - 10:20am | dkshoreline

Given today's news in Chignik

The old ways die hard given your example. However, until they are done investigating, what happened in Chignik yesterday is nothing but a tragic economic event for the community.

July 22, 2008 - 10:22am | Sheridan_Sheraton

And the Alaskeros [Filipino]

And the Alaskeros [Filipino] that work there.

July 21, 2008 - 12:25am | staufen

Shhh, now you're scaring Nush-baby

The very thought that other peoples may have histories that span centuries is uncomfortable to some who rely on only their cries being heard -- in today's world where science actually tells us we all have one common genetic mother. (Hint: there is no race except one, the human race - and we are all equals.)

Let me see if I can even try to think like Nush: Whhhhaaaaaa! I want MY "native" share of Europe and Sicily, and Jerusalem too (BTW, Frederick was the only one in history to take it without force).

What do I do now? No one will disobey the laws of these United States and discriminate against all other citizens just for my red beard and yellow hair and fair skin! Why, that's not right!!!! I just want a government to take care of MEEE! at everyone else's expense!!!! Can't I get what I want.... Mine, mine, MINE!!!!! What's wrong with you that you won't give it to MEE MEEE MEEEE! I'm soooo special,,,,, I am melting, Dorothy!

Answer to Nush: Who am I, what do I do? I am your worst nightmare. Because I simply do a citizen's duty to learn the law and apply the law, and bring the enforcers into action. But at the same time, I am no one but one. Although what really scares you is that I would motivate an army of ones, and that they would rise up to protect our nation, and the rights to equal protections under the Constitution, and stop you from discrimination against other Alaskan natives (not in CDQ programs) too.

BTW, I was a forensic accountant for a law firm on a case involving Lender Liability, against two factory trawlers who had ripped off Ballard suppliers and gone through federal bankruptcies, yet they still held millions in a Norwegian bank. The FBI and Norwegian investigators then had me (in Jan. 1997) give them a 3-1/2 hour lecture detailing how it all worked and how the shoreside plants had a price-fix on surimi, and that another $200 to $300 million in F/T bankruptcies would occur if Ted gave the shoreside the 70% they were asking for. That's before CDQs got the illicit concessionary 10% tax against fishermen absent any real rights to it. And that was why there was a F/T buyback - and you never saw another F/T go bankrupt. I am no one but a guy who did an honest job, and every job honestly. And I am one who simply bears Witness to the world. Peter1 is correct, the Alaska fishing industry is simply an understandable icon for the corruption that has gripped our Nation. And there is no higher calling than to be a citizen who works to restore our rights.

When you mock me, you mock you. Get out from under the apron, Nush, and start serving others instead of yourself.

July 21, 2008 - 10:55am | Man_from_Unk

Restoring our rights

That's right up my ally, my rights to fair and equal treatment regardless of my race. Race gets in the way of human to human relations. We need to do something about that before too long.

Another problem we're having out here in rural Alaska is those self serving Liberals making certain humans feel special and important. That in turn cause the special person to think they have a right to discriminate against their own kind. The big shot rides high for awhile until his hill comes crumbling down then it's back to being a nobody again. We have a recent example in our CDQ group up our way. Our ex-CEO was a big shot for years and now he is just a regular guy. He won't even use the knowledge he gained to help fix the problems he saw with the program. What he saw went right to his wallet. He had good mentors for that. It's the me, me, me, mine, mine, mine syndrome. The sad thing about it is that we have a couple more guys waiting in line to do the same thing.

It's a crime against humanity to allow non educated people to be in control of so much public trust money. That is the Liberals for you. They think they are giving the people control of their own destiny and the little minds/leaders abuse it for themselves. Then the Liberals don't care to fix the mess they made. They probably don't know where to start.

In case you don't know a Liberal from a regular All-American guy, it's the guy who is always bending over and laughing really loud at the stupid jokes at any meeting where you have Bush Leaders running around acting important. It's a farce that has to be stopped. It stops with me.

July 23, 2008 - 9:00am | staufen

Far from alone...

you aren't the only first people who gets that correct!

Might add that even after living in seven Alaska coastal communities, I did not understand what was too often wrong with local leadership, until I lived in the Former Soviet Union. Upon return, a certain clarity struck home - that the Russian raiders' legacy in coastal Alaska slaughtered off the true heritage of native leadership qualities, and substituted the "I'm the director, so I have all the say" mentality. Others were expected to just go along. That's just a hypothesis, but it may have significant merit.

Glad to see you are self-actualized and aware. Freedom and liberty must be re-forged daily by individuals, as no government can guarantee it.

July 23, 2008 - 10:27am | Man_from_Unk

Bully tactics

Another way of putting the rural leadership into perception is not as nice as you put it, "I'm the director, so I have all the say", it is the bully whom everyone is afraid to cross. Yes, I agree that the Russian raiders had a lot to do with destroying the leadership, that, and the diseases that was brought by those early exploiters. The true leaders were probably out there in the community helping the people while the cowards hid in their huts. Now the coward off spring are in charge and now they hide in their offices and behind their Bylaws.

July 14, 2008 - 11:50am | Man_from_Unk

Thanks for the math

We're getting fleeced alright. Some Alaskan's are getting poorer and poorer because some of us cannot participate in a salmon fishery that use to provide us with a bit of comfort both economically and culturally. Salmon to fish for money and salmon to fish for food is becoming more and more restricted.

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