Time to organize

It's funny to me how some people in the Bristol Bay fishery have short memories. Since about the early 1990s, the major processors have gotten into the habit of not posting a price, or "settling up" after the fishing season. Although this hasn't always been the practice in the Bay, it has become accepted as "it's always been done that way." I think that this practice of not posting a price hurts fishermen, as many of them make serious upfront investments and can't even remotely predict the payout based on price. But, what can fishermen do about it? There are few processors, and many of them are locked into strict contracts that dictate that they will only sell to that processor. One potential solution is to market a portion of one's catch directly, and establish your own markets for your fish. It seems like an impossible task, but by collaborating, fishermen working together can achieve economies of scale that will help them be competitive in this arena. This season was one of the best seasons in terms of volume, and one of the worst in terms of price in many years. With the rough weather, people were literally risking their lives to bring a top quality salmon product to market, and not realizing that they were putting all this effort in for only $0.50 per pound. It only adds insult to injury when Bristol Bay fishermen get to witness the prices that their prized sockeye salmon commands down south in the lower-48. It's not uncommon to see sockeye selling for $15-16 per pound in stores, and upwards of $20 or more in places like Whole Foods, or in high end gourmet food stores. The fact of the matter is that in Bristol Bay, we have what in economics terms can be characterized as an oligopoly - a small group of processors who essentially dictate the market conditions. The major processors dictate not only the price (at the end of the season, when the fishermen have already pumped money into expensive RSW systems, new fish holds, new engines, etc.), but they also dictate when the fishermen can fish, and how many pounds they can deliver in a day or a tide. In a good season, the fishermen are constrained in their economic earning ability by arbitrary limits that have very little to do with processing capacity, and more to do with the market price of fresh sockeye salmon on the marketplace. So, what is a Bristol Bay fishermen to do? Many critics of the current economic system have called for "organizing," with very little details of what that means. I would like to propose that fishermen join a cooperative whose ideals are furthering collaboration, lowering costs of production, and providing a resource to small, independent direct market fishermen and small processors catering more to unique, niche markets (and are able to pay fishermen who deliver to them a more reasonable ex-vessel price). Although it's not an easy way out by any means, fishermen can start having a portion of their fish custom processed for marketing on their own. Nakeen Homepack, Wild Alaska Salmon and Seafood, and Naknek Family Fisheries all provide custom processing services in Naknek during the salmon season. These small processors are very willing to help fishermen out with the logistics and marketing of their products. If you are interested in learning more about the Bristol Bay Seafood Marketing Cooperative, you can shoot me a quick email at izetta.chambers@gmail.com and I will add you to our listserv. We have a Google Group called "Bristol Bay Salmon Marketing Collaborative." You can search for us at www.groups.google.com. We are actively recruiting members, and would like start consolidating freight orders and sharing crucial information before the 2016 salmon season. Potential members have already indicated that they would like to consolidate an order on insulated totes. There are several other key resources out there for fishermen looking to get into marketing their fish directly. The Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program provides free information through their extensive network of agents around the state, and also has some informative publications at their website at www.seagrant.uaf.edu. Another excellent resource for marketing fish directly is http://www.bristolbaysalmonsales.com/. For a nominal fee, direct market fishermen and small processors can have a banner ad on their website, and can learn important information regarding licensing and permitting. A new website that I developed for fishermen just getting started in the direct marketing business is www.sellyourownfish.com. I developed this website to answer basic questions that I was fielding about licensing and permitting of fisheries products. I hope to see many of my old fishing friends at Pacific Marine Expo. If you would like to sign up as a member of the cooperative then, I will be happy to provide more detailed information and discuss some of your long-term goals for your fisheries business. Izetta Chambers is the founding member of Naknek Family Fisheries. She is a consultant and advisor for many small direct market fishing operations, and has helped fishermen and small business owners get started in marketing their catch directly. Izetta can be reached at (520) 488-9814 or through email at izetta.chambers@gmail.com.