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Right after the yearly halibut catch limits are announced each January, brokers are usually busy with buying, selling and transferring shares of the catch. But it’s been slow going so far, even with slight harvest increases in almost all Alaska fishing areas for the first time in nearly a decade. The buyers are there – it’s the sellers that are scarce.

 

“There’s less of a rush this year, but there are less quota shares available,” said Olivia Olsen at Alaskan Quota and Permits at Petersburg. 

 

“We’ve had some good sales in Southeast (2C), and we’re seeing very strong interest for halibut quota pretty much across the board. But shares for both halibut and sablefish are practically non-existent in the Central Gulf. I think the increases in both areas and the higher prices might bring out some more sellers, and of course, the buyers are sitting there waiting.”

 

Blocks of halibut shares in Southeast Alaska are selling at $50 per pound, Olsen said. Recent sales in the Central Gulf reached a high of $45/pound, with others fetching a few dollars less.

 

“These are record high prices, and of course, the folks that are buying must believe that the resource is recovering,” said Doug Bowen at Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. “I have my doubts with very modest catch increases we’ve seen just this year, but there certainly is a feeling out there that maybe things have bottomed out and will improve from here on. We see that in the prices that people are willing to pay for halibut quota. It’s amazing.”

 

Read the full story at the Homer Tribune>>

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