High times for halibut

Halibut prices have Travis Goodrich smiling. Deckboss photos

While in Kodiak for the May 28 gubernatorial debate, I walked the docks a little and ran into the crew of the halibut longliner Inua.

Skipper Travis Goodrich and the boys were baiting hooks with chunks of pollock and looking pretty pleased with life.

Goodrich said they'd made a big delivery of halibut a couple of days earlier and got $4.75 to $5.25 a pound for the fish, depending on the size.

"That's excellent," said Goodrich, about as high as he's ever seen at this point in the season.

After talking awhile, Deckboss looked up from his notepad long enough to realize the Inua is actually a sailboat!

Goodrich said he and his crew have been known to raise the big sail on occasion, though not too often.

The latest issue of the Seafood Market Bulletin, prepared for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, confirms improved market conditions this year for halibut.

Read the report here.