Day 41 - Over a Barrel

June 14^th

            The fishermen catch the fish and give them to the tenders, who work for the canaries. The canaries process and ship the fish to supermarkets and restaurants where consumers purchase Alaskan salmon. The most fishermen get paid for their fish up here is about a dollar a pound. Somewhere between here and the supermarket the price is inflated to over 20 dollars a pound and often higher. The fishermen know this, they don’t like it, but they don’t know what to do about it. They’ve tried striking, but there is always someone who is willing to work for the offered price, they end up catching all the fish because they’re the only ones fishing and it screws everyone else.

            The price fishermen have been getting paid for their fish has not changed since the 70s. Since then fuel prices, expenses for food and expenses to maintain their boats has steadily increased. The overhead to fish has become too cumbersome for most. The canaries will not raise their prices because they know the fishermen have nowhere else to go. Sadly the fishermen are not organized enough or willing to work together to increase their profits. Instead they’re distracted, quarreling amongst themselves, settling for the low prices and grinding away their existence.