Halibut fishermen landed 630,170 pounds on Monday, the largest deliveries since late May and landed more than 1.5 million pounds this week statewide. Seventy-six percent of the 59 million pound quota has been taken to date.

Despite the influx of fish, prices in Kodiak continued to hover between $2.90 and $3.30 per pound, while Homer prices were slightly higher at $3.15 to $3.40 per pound.

"These are some of the highest prices we've ever seen," said Jessica Stack of the Auction Block in Homer.

Kodiak and Homer processors attribute this year's elevated prices to higher demand for the flaky white fish in the Lower 48 and more competition from Dutch Harbor and Sand Point processors.

"There are absolutely more deliveries out West this year," said Dave Woodruff of Alaska Fresh Seafoods. "Trident has been buying with a vengeance out in Sand Point, doing everything they can to keep halibut from coming to Kodiak."

Alaska Custom Seafoods owner Brad Faulkner said he has also felt the pressure to compete with Trident Seafoods in Sand Point.

"They've had good prices all year," Faulkner said. "You have to compete with them to get boats to travel to the road system."

The high prices are an unexpected bonus for boat owners and crews this year, but industry insiders remain apprehensive that prices could plummet.

"It's high enough to be worrisome," Faulkner said. "We still have to compete with chicken and compete with pork."

Woodruff said he has talked to several brokers in the Lower 48 who have told him they can no longer afford to buy halibut.

"Eventually the consumer will rebelthen the whole house of cards will come tumbling down," Woodruff said.

The Joint Legislative Salmon Industry Task Force will be holding its first round of meetings in Anchorage on Sept. 14 and 15. The purpose of this meeting is organizational and will set the agenda for this year's task force. Please forward any suggestions, comments or ideas to the office of Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, at: Rep. Paul Seaton, 345 W. Sterling Hwy Suite 102B, Homer, Alaska, 99603.

Salmon squabbles may soon be added to the growing list of trade skirmishes between Canada and the U.S., according to an article on the Web site Canada.com.

John Cummins, Canadian Alliance fisheries critic, said a decision by the U.S. Congress not to pay its share of the budget for the Pacific Salmon Commission is another sign of Canada's fallen standing in Washington.

The Vancouver-based commission draws equal funding from both sides of the border, monitoring threatened salmon stocks that are shared under the Canada-U.S Pacific Salmon Treaty.

Despite a full Canadian contribution this spring, the money is running out and "there were very strong indications that the commission would be closing at some point early in September," Cummins said Friday. In March, the U.S. Congress cut funding for fiscal 2003. In July, the House appropriations committee refused to fund the commission for 2004, raising the spectre of a full U.S. withdrawal.

Cummins, a member of parliament for Delta South-Richmond, said it's another indication of the broken fences that the federal government must mend with the administration of President George W. Bush.

"About a million bucks, that's what we're short here to keep the salmon commission operating," he said. "The American Congress spends a million dollars like you or I might spend a buck for a coffee."

Larry Cassidy, a U.S. commissioner from Washington state, has said that the loss of funding will not nullify the bilateral salmon treaty, renegotiated in 1999.

But if the commission were to close, it would make it harder to enforce the agreement and could lead to renewed confrontations between Canadian and U.S. fishermen.

The treaty issue came to a head in 1997 when American fish boats headed to Alaska through Canadian waters were subjected to searches and a transit fee.

Some Canadian fishing boats blocked an Alaska-bound ferry in Prince Rupert, claiming Americans were taking too many British Columbia.-bound fish.

B.C. frustration over Ottawa's handling of negotiations also sparked a federal-provincial confrontation. Then-premier Glen Clark threatened to deny Canadian and U.S. navy ships access to a weapons-testing range off Vancouver Island.

Ottawa responded by expropriating the Nanoose Bay weapons range, a move later overturned in court.

In an interview earlier this week the commission's executive secretary, Don Kowal, said some or all of the commission's staff may soon be dismissed.

Cummins said he suspects powerful Alaskan politicians may be behind the decision to withhold the commission's funds.

Last year, Gov. Frank Murkowski, then senator, asked the U.S. secretary of state to reopen the Pacific Salmon Treaty in response to British Columbia's decision to lift the moratorium on salmon farm expansion.

"There's a strong Alaska lobby here and Alaskan senators in key positions that would ensure the money would flow have (instead) decided to turn off the tap," Cummins said.

Don Kowal, executive secretary of the salmon commission, told The Associated Press officials are puzzled why the United States has not contributed its share of the funding - especially since the amount is so small. Canada has paid its full share.

"We are not talking big money here, but there are big consequences," Kowal said.

Bush administration officials said the president included funding for the commission in his budget request for the current fiscal year, but money for the salmon agency and five other international panels was taken out when Congress approved the 2003 budget. The State Department has been trying to persuade Congress to reprogram enough money to keep it from collapsing. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said previous State Department funding suggestions have been unacceptable, but that a compromise should be reached soon to save the salmon commission.