That's up from a quarter of a million pounds of salmon certified a year ago, under a strict quality control program put together in 2000.

Although Grabacki said that it is a small percentage of the overall salmon harvest that participates in the quality control program, he said, "we are thrilled by the performance of the fishermen and processors in the Alaska Quality Seafood Program. Within the program, there has been a tremendous increase in quality and tremendous increase of buyer recognition of that quality."

The four-pronged program includes quality handling of fish on the boat and at the plant, a grading of the product, independent verification of handling practices and product grades, and marketing the value of the certified quality seal.

Fishermen and processors involved in the program in 2003 at Cordova, Kenai, Kodiak, Chignik and Naknek saw prices boosted by attention to quality, Grabacki said. In all, 125 fishermen and 15 tenders or buying stations participated, working with red, pink and silver salmon harvested by driftnet, setnet and purse seine fisheries. "We worked with headed and gutted, fillets and portions of salmon, in fresh and frozen formats," he said.

The 10 participating seafood processors told program managers they paid 5 to 25 cents a pound more for quality controlled salmon, "and it's even better this year," Grabacki said.

For quality frozen, headed and gutted salmon, the prices rose from 11 percent to 103 percent for premium, the top grade given to the product, Grabaki said. Fresh, headed and gutted fish rose in price from 47 percent to 90 percent in 2003, and frozen and fresh fillets were up 18 percent, Grabaki said.

"This year, we are still in the middle of the season, but we are very encouraged by what we hear the processors are paying to fishermen for quality prepared seafood," he said.

The Alaska Quality Seafood Program, developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce, is what is known as a "voluntary/mandatory" program, Grabacki said. It's voluntary because anyone can participate in it and mandatory because participants must meet carefully outlined standards, he said.

What buyers are looking for is an unblemished fish with good meat color, good fresh appearance, said Bill Buck, a purchaser and sales person for Favco, an Anchorage processor. Each fish must be handled carefully to avoid bruising and to assure good color and fresh appearance.

A "premium" label signifies superior handling, workmanship and physical characteristics for the most discerning customers. A "choice" grade label goes to high-quality fish, which shows excellent handling, workmanship and physical characteristics required for most retail and food service applications. "Select" grade fish have slight physical imperfections or workmanship errors and is suited for applications where further processing would eliminate such imperfections. A "standard" grade fish has moderate physical imperfections or workmanship errors, but with further processing may be used in industrial applications, for example, as an ingredient in minced or formed products.

Fishermen participating in the program must follow detailed handling, chilling and delivery guidelines to ensure that the greatest portion of their catch can achieve the highest quality grades. Tender operators and buying stations likewise have specific handling procedures, including quick deliveries to processing plants to preserve shelf life.

All fish are inspected when arriving at the processing plant as well as during the final product grading. A final inspection of more than 30 quality criteria verifies the quality grade. These inspections are conducted or audited by third-party inspectors to ensure compliance. Once the inspection is completed, an official seal is applied to the box to indicate its grading.

"The critical thing is fish that are as fresh as possible and maintaining temperature control (because the product will end up in a retail market)," Grabacki said. "We've been interacting with a customer and established their specifications, and are delivering product to their specifications."

NorQuest Seafoods president John Garner said his company is pleased with the quality controls of the program. NorQuest uses the quality seal for fresh salmon flown out to Lower 48 markets hours after harvest. NorQuest initiated the fresh fish fly-outs last year in an agreement with the Chignik fishermen's co-op. "This year we're flying out more fresh than last year," Garner said.

One of the keys to growth is market impact. The idea is to create push marketing, or support of manufacturers, and pull marketing through advertising in trade journals, asking customers to request Alaska quality seafood when they buy, he said.

The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, meanwhile, continues to promote improved quality of the catch delivered at wholesale and retail level, with training programs and online advice.

"People are wising up," said Randy Rice, ASMI's seafood technical program director. The one single, most fundamental problem is proper chilling, but bruising is important to watch for, as well, he said. "Fishermen who do better handling need to see better return on that.

"For us to be competitive in the marketplace, quality has got to be there. You've got to hope quality will result in increased customer satisfaction, and over time, that you begin to develop the margin for that extra care, but it doesn't happen instantaneously, and it doesn't happen in all market sectors," he said.

"Right now it's frustrating for fishermen, but it's a course we've just got to stay with," he said. "We didn't lose that market overnight. It's going to take time."