April 6, 2021 — OBI Seafoods will not process salmon at its cannery in Excursion Inlet this summer. The Haines Borough is preparing for a dramatic reduction in raw fish tax revenue as a result.
OBI Seafoods will continue to buy salmon from local fishermen for its plant in Petersburg.
Last year, weak salmon returns and the pandemic led to a quiet summer at the Excursion Inlet plant. This year, they won’t be processing salmon at all.
OBI Seafoods public affairs manager Julianne Curry said the decision was made based on forecasted salmon returns for this summer.
“The company took a really careful look at the State of Alaska salmon run predictions for the 2021 season and we made the really difficult decision to shut down salmon buying at our Excursion Inlet facility this year,” Curry said.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has forecast a return of 28 million pink salmon to Southeast Alaska. That’s a little bit lower than the 10-year average but better than the most recent years.