Circle Opens 2026 Season with $0.61 Base for Pinks
Last winter, we wrote about delivering on our promises—two years of paying above-market prices, building retail demand for wild Alaska pink salmon, and bringing the Circle I processing barge to Metlakatla. We said the test wasn't the press coverage; it was whether we could follow through.
Today we're announcing Circle's base prices for the 2026 Southeast Alaska seine season. The numbers are how we follow through:
• Pink salmon: $0.61/lb
• Chum salmon: $1.07/lb
• Sockeye salmon: $2.50/lb
And Circle's base price is paid in weeks not months.
Holding the line on pinks
Circle's 2025 final pink price was $0.61/lb. We're setting that same number as our 2026 base price.
That isn't a coincidence. For more than two years, Circle has been building retail demand for high-quality wild Alaska pink salmon. Our Ultra Low Temp Pink Salmon Fillets are in 4,000 retail stores across the United States. Circle pinks are on shelves at Publix, Whole Foods, H-E-B, Sprouts Farmers Market, Harris Teeter, and a growing list of retailers in North America and abroad. Our innovations in the grab-and-go and foodservice spaces will expand our reach and introduce wild salmon to consumers who have never bought it before.
The retail demand we’ve built supports $0.61/lb on pinks, and we aren't waiting for end-of-season retro to share that value with our fleet.
A 20% increase on chum
Our 2025 final chum price was $0.89/lb. For 2026, Circle's chum base is $1.07/lb—a 20% increase. Drivers of this chum price are Circle’s flesh and roe markets, as well as our entrance to the Japanese market during the first quarter of 2026. Circle’s whole round freezing process is proving that refreshed roe is as good—and sometimes better—than fresh.
How Circle pays the fleet
Fish tickets are paid via direct deposit within weeks of delivery, not as a single end-of-season settlement.
About dock-delivery bonuses: other processors frame dock premiums as a reward. In practice, those premiums function as a fuel surcharge on captains who deliver to the tender. Circle's tender operation delivers fish at the same quality standard as a dock delivery, which is why our price is uniform regardless of where you deliver. Circle’s strategic use of limited tender services means that our fleet’s captains keep more of the value of their catch.
Circle I, back in Metlakatla
Circle I returns to Metlakatla for the 2026 season. The barge brings 500,000 pounds of daily freeze capacity, 1 million pounds of refrigerated holding tank capacity, 200 tons of slush ice per day from four onboard ice makers, and more than 10 million pounds of cold storage for transport.
The barge is part of what makes Circle’s pricing possible. Instead of traditional logistics, using leased containers that move on other people’s timelines, Circle has the capacity to ship 10M pounds of salmon out of Alaska in bulk in ultra cold storage. This logistical advantage is another reason that Circle’s model continues to beat the status quo in Southeast Alaska.
After 10M pounds, Circle will ship salmon via traditional logistics channels.
Price leaders in the Southeast market
The economics of Alaska's wild salmon industry have been broken for a long time. Prices haven't kept up with the cost and expertise of running a fishing vessel. Variable supply and inconsistent quality have driven prices in the wrong direction year after year.
Circle is making a different choice for the third year in a row. When a processor pays a fair price for quality fish, the fleet earns more, communities benefit, and the industry moves toward something sustainable. The Southeast price floor has lifted over the past two years partly because Circle has been in the market—and we intend to keep being a force for that.
Are you a seine fisherman in SE Alaska?
Circle has open spots on our fleet for the 2026 season. If you're a seiner looking for a buyer who pays a fair, transparent price for quality fish—and pays it fast—we want to talk.
Register your interest and learn more about joining the Circle fleet: Join Circle
You can reach Fleet Coordinator Kit Culbert directly at fleet@circleseafoods.com or (907) 615-3405.
We're also hiring for the 2026 season. If building something better in a difficult industry sounds like work worth doing, you can browse our open positions.
About Circle Seafoods
Circle Seafoods is shaping the future of wild seafood. Our processing approach adds efficiency and fair treatment to the supply chain to make harvesting wild salmon more profitable, while raising the fishery's quality and value. Long-term, this means economically viable harvesting, thriving communities, and strong fisheries. We're committed to prosperity, from fishermen to families, for generations.
