As an Alaskan homesteader, Fish is what is our main product up here. I am the odd ball doing chicken (quite locally).
Alaskan Homesteaders have for years been exporting fish and do so today.
There are two ways to earn and income in salmon
1. borrow lots of money and risk everyting to have a bigger operation and more permits and more nets and more skiffs and more and more and more. These are the big time operators many started out as just mom and pop deals but in an effort to make it they risked it all.
but take the Exxon spill they went under quickly
2. Then there is the small sites that could not or would not risk it. There are many such places. Because the market in Alaska is saturated they eight sell to the big operations for a pitance. I have seen the fishermen get 35 cents a pount for premium red sockey salman and see that it is sold in the store for $12.00 a pound.
With the advant of newer marketing ways and the "Alaskan Wild" program. Many of the small places Such as "Beachm Fishery" (
www.alaskanbestwildsalmon.com) operated by just family members -7 people are now able to reach out to other places and it makes a difference. The importance of "cooL for the Salmon is that what the public does not know is that much of the salmon in the stores is from other countries. Much of it is farm raised out side the borders of Alaska. That farm raised fish is dyed to appear red. With out the lableing of county of Origin many are paying $12.00 a pound and getting dog salmon for which is of lower qua.
Many do not even know of the many different sub breeds of salmon and the stores just lable it all salmon.
There are five main types of salmon and each of the five have a nickname and each type is normally better for differnet uses.
Think of Tomatoes some are slicers some are canners ect.
We need to know what our options are for marketing our product.
