Direct Market Salmon.

Discussion related to commercial salmon trolling, boats, gear, fishing techniques, electronics, marketing, etc.
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elhewman
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Direct Market Salmon.

Post by elhewman »

Anybody ever tried the Direct market Idea for troll caught. I have had the thought of niche marketing my salmon do to that fact that I will have a lower volume of fish at first. I think it would be sweet to have fillets of salmon to load into your Commercial freezer and sell to salmon lovers. A few hurdles to deal with from the DEC and of course extra work including paperwork and becoming somewhat of a marketer. But I still am looking into it. Do you Know of many people doing this stuff. Not looking for any entrepreneurs to give me secrets, just trying to learn from others if this is happening within the troll fleet. I know many shrimpers have little choice. Thanks
Crawfish
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by Crawfish »

My data point is this.

It is possible to do with some extra work involved. I have moved a lot of fish through direct marketing to the ultimate consumer. All fresh never frozen. The downside to marketing your own product in the way I have done it is you are in town selling fish when you could be out catching. The up side is you are not tied to dock prices.

In 88 we got $3.50 a LB you would have possibly cost yourself money by direct marketing then.
In 96 we got offered a dock price .60 cents a LB . This is when it really made sense. In 2000 we were fishing for splitters in July and the price was .99 a LB made sense then too. Fast forward to 2013 when the dock price was $9.00 a LB then the margins start to look better the other way. It really depends on the market if the gains are there or not.

Unfortunately if you can't supply product someone else will replace you. You lose your market.
This is the stronghold the trash farmed salmon hold on the retailers.
The hardest thing for a self supplier is making sure you have product when your customer wants it.
Maybe frozen circumvents this to a degree but you may not be able to demand such a premium.

Just remember there is a liability factor you need to calculate for. Product liability and the liability on your body for moving said product.
Sometimes it is nice just to unload and go home.

In the end is it worth it ?

Yes.
Just for the satisfaction of semi controlling your own destiny but you pay a price with your body and time.
Salty
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by Salty »

I have direct marketed for years and still do to some degree. For me, it was a wonderful, flattering experience to have my fish going to some of the best restaurants to be prepared by the best chef's. Nevertheless I don't recommend it. Unless you hire shore support, an on land refrigeration site, and piggy back with a volume shipper you are either compromising your self or your buyer.
elhewman
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by elhewman »

Thanks for the honest advice. I am still trying to find a way to get a little more per pound. But I assume that your right and I will run myself ragged. I was just dreaming that I could actually make a living of the of an amazing job like trolling. I am trying to find ways to make that Idea work.
But I already know that summers are pretty busy and the chance of getting my wife to be volunteer as shore support is not too good.

That said, your piggy backing off of volume shippers is genius. Do people regularly do that?
Drew
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by Drew »

Most of the time we think of ourselves as a pretty low volume fishery. But when you start to think about marketing your own fish it seems like one good coho trip is a ludicrous amount of fish.
akfish1
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by akfish1 »

One problem I think is the purchasers have specific needs. I spoke to two companies in OR about direct market Coho. The were really wanting fish but only 4-6 nothing bigger or smaller. I dont want to unload 500 fish by myself then go tell the local buyer sorry only have small fish. Plus time lost and extra DEC requirements made in unappealing to me. I would rather make a fast turn around and get back fishing.
Salty
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by Salty »

I am in a situation now where they want the fish Tuesday or Wednesday Morning. Since our openings around here are 1 -3 days and I fish almost every morning it would cost me to bring them fish.
elhewman
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by elhewman »

Looking less and less optimistic. Thanks
captainaritan
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by captainaritan »

I can help you with direct marketing your fish
But it is not the way that the form talked about
I can talk to you about this but I don't want to post it
You can give me a call 267 303 2650
I have been doing it for several years and have a first hand experience.
kjwelder
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by kjwelder »

There are huge opportunities in product form and marketing in our business. If you are interested I would recommend pursuing your plans.
But remember, you aren't cutting out the middle man, you are becoming the middle man.
Also, I have found that Pooling my fish with SPC is one of the best long term ways that I can maximize my trolling profits.
akfish1
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by akfish1 »

I agree with kjwelder 100% I dont know that you can do much better than SPC. I freeze my Salmon on board and this years settlement was nearly as high as the prospective buyers were offering down south.
Siskiyous
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by Siskiyous »

The few successes I know of with this run fish markets, they increase their own value by raising the value of other peoples product too. Generally this tactic requires a husband wife team that is mature, hard working, and personable.
elhewman
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by elhewman »

Wow, Thanks for looking at things at from different angle than most. I know it is a big hurdle with some of the ideas I have(which are nothing new) but I just want to try them. The firsts posts took the wind out of my sails and I do not want to discount anything I just wanted to see if a little bit of creative niche marketing could make a difference somehow. Perhaps, it would be couple years of trial and error before I found marketing strategy that worked. Captainaritan Thanks in advance for your willingness to go out of the way. Sorry I did not see your post sooner but, I was assuming my last response put the cap on the thread. Ill take you up on your offer and give you a call.
Salty
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by Salty »

I thought that with all the emphasis on knowing where your food comes from direct marketing would fit right in. I also thought traceability like the "Thisfish" program would be a good idea. But, am old, what this needs is fresh young ideas and energy.
Siskiyous
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by Siskiyous »

Often it seems like ideas are widely held when in fact they are just widely broadcast because large sums of grant money are going into making it look like a big deal so that significant grant money sums can go to the political machine and the families and cronies of politicians. Real market research, and old fashioned trial and error, is the only way to know if an idea will become a profitable business.
DiamondLil
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Re: Direct Market Salmon.

Post by DiamondLil »

My wife and I have been selling part of our FAS catch over the dock for several years. We enjoy the people (like family, really) and make some additional money. From this additional money, we have to subtract overhead (transportation, running the freezer extra days, running straight through BC) and we put in an additional two+ months working. For us it still pays off but:

1. Last year the SPC settlement was outstanding. We lost money selling fish to the one restraurant customer we have and didn't pay for our time with our direct market customers. We still had a lot of fun doing it.
2. Over the 30 years we've been fishing, SPC is by far the best investment we've made. We still deliver most of our product to SPC.
3. We make it a goal to sell out by the second week of December. Anything more and we'd be ahead to get day jobs:)
4. As an earlier poster mentioned, you ARE the middle man.

I don't know of any iced-fish troller with a market of any size who has stuck with it although quite a few have tried. It's a lot of work and complication, and if you're icing fish, it takes away from fishing time. That's sort of the trade-off. You can increase your income either by direct marketing or extending your fishing season (time on the water).

Joe
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