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The Exchange writes checks no later than 24 hours after your fish sells on auction.
You can pick the check up, have it mailed, or have the money wired directly to your
account. Before any money is sent out, you must have completed an "Agent
Authorization Form," which not only tells the Exchange who will represent your fish
on the auction, but also tells them who gets the money and how.
The fee schedule is somewhat complex, usually based on the bid price you
receive for your fish, and in some cases, the species too.
- Here are the fees for all items (including all groundfish and some
shellfish species), except as noted below:
| Bid price |
Fee if bid accepted |
Fee if bid rejected |
Fee if no bid received |
| 1-20 cents |
2.1 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
| 21-35 cents |
2.7 cents/lb |
5.4 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
| 36-75 cents |
3.2 cents/lb |
6.4 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
| 76 cents or more |
4.3 cents/lb |
8.6 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
- Fees are slightly higher for swordfish, shark, halibut, tuna, and other
fish that are individually weighed:
| Bid price |
Fee if bid accepted |
Fee if bid rejected |
Fee if no bid received |
| 1-20 cents |
3.1 cents/lb |
5.2 cents/lb |
5.2 cents/lb |
| 21-35 cents |
3.7 cents/lb |
6.4 cents/lb |
5.2 cents/lb |
| 36-75 cents |
4.2 cents/lb |
7.4 cents/lb |
5.2 cents/lb |
| 76 cents or more |
5.3 cents/lb |
9.6 cents/lb |
5.2 cents/lb |
- The Exchange really gets you on monk livers:
| Bid price |
Fee if bid accepted |
Fee if bid rejected |
Fee if no bid received |
| Under $5 |
5.3 cents/lb |
10.6 cents/lb |
5.3 cents/lb |
| $5 or more |
6.4 cents/lb |
12.8 cents/lb |
6.4 cents/lb |
- But dogfish are a relative bargain:
| Bid price |
Fee if bid accepted |
Fee if bid rejected |
Fee if no bid received |
| Any |
1.33 cents/lb |
2.66 cents/lb |
2.66 cents/lb |
- If you fish for whiting and unload it in totes, the fees are:
| Bid price |
Fee if bid accepted |
Fee if bid rejected |
Fee if no bid received |
| Any |
2.1 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
- Many shellfish fees - hardshell clams, mussels, periwinkles, shrimp, and
lobster - are independent of the bid price:
| Item |
Fee if bid accepted |
Fee if bid rejected |
Fee if no bid received |
| Hardshell clams |
2.1 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
| Mussels |
2.1 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
| Periwinkles |
2.1 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
4.2 cents/lb |
| Shrimp |
2.7 cents/lb |
5.4 cents/lb |
5.4 cents/lb |
| Lobster |
8 cents/lb |
16 cents/lb |
16 cents/lb |
But crabs, softshell clams, oysters, and sea urchins
are subject to the groundfish fee schedule.
- If your fish goes into a tote (meaning: almost all fish), the Exchange charges you an additional
½
cent per pound to recoup the cost of cleaning & sanitizing that tote
(part of the Exchange's HACCP program).
- There is also a seller efficiency
discount program, where you can get 10% of your fees refunded if you unload
efficiently (this program
also applies to fish which arrives by truck). These are good
programs and it pays to make the effort to qualify - call the
Exchange for details.
- Finally, the Exchange charges a minimum transaction fee of $10 (meaning
you always have to pay them at least $10 to put product on the auction - but I can't
recall the last time this ever hurt a boat). They also charge a minimum lot
fee of $1, which hurts only when you have, say, just 2 pounds of yellowtails --
in that case, your fees effectively become 50 cents/lb. for that one lot (tote) of fish.
Whether or not you want to incur that minimum lot fee is up to you - but I usually
encourage my boats to bring the fish in anyway, because the real net cost of this minimum
fee is low, plus you never know when you'll want that landing history.
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