Fish Factor

As Alaska’s salmon season winds down, selling the bulk of the harvest gears up for seafood companies that purchased the pack.

“This is the season for negotiations, you might say,” said salmon guru Gunnar Knapp, longtime fisheries economist at the University of Alaska/Anchorage. “You never know the price until the product is actually sold.”

The salmon season runs on different tracks starting with sockeye, and fish sales have varying schedules and market patterns throughout the year. Plus, salmon markets depend on the species and how they are sold.

“You can’t just say what is the market for sock...