YELLOWKNIFE - Despite poor overall results, prices paid for NWT marten pelts were among the highest in North America at last month's fur auction in Seattle.

"Marten is our cash crop," said Francois Rossouw of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment's traditional economy division.

Marten accounts for 80 per cent of the total value of the NWT harvest.

The value of the 2006-07 marten harvest is approximately $664,000 as of February, with two auctions remaining before the end of the year.

Jim Gibb of Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. in North Bay last week gave the preliminary overall results for marten pelts at an average price of $69.27.

But NWT marten was actually much stronger with an average price of $79.79.

While this still represents a drop from 2006, Rossouw said last year's prices were an irregularity.

In 2006, China stepped into the wild fur market for the first time. Chinese brokers bought a lot of furs, to test them out, and overpaid, Rossouw said.

"They were buying anything and everything and are now sitting on a lot of inventory," he said.

As a result, few brokers from China were at this year's auction.

In addition, climate change is having a hand in decreased fur sales, he suggested.

"You can't sell coats during a warm winter," said Rossouw.

"We are coming back to a natural state of where we should be," said John Culford, manager of the traditional economy division.

"We're not bottoming out... there will be peaks and valleys, and there was a peak last year," he said.

Prices are down compared to last year, but are on par with the five-year average for number of pelts sold and the average value achieved.

There were 56 buyers in the room when NWT marten pelts went on the block.

"The activity was great. It was a highlight for the wildlife section," said Rossouw, who attended the auction.

Due in part to the average price of $115 paid last year for marten, there was a greater quantity at this year's sale, he added.

"The more fur we have at auction, the better it is for us," said Rossouw. With increased volume to buy, there will be more interest from buyers as they can do an entire line of clothing.

NWT marten, or sable as it is often known elsewhere, is "unique in the North American industry," said Rossouw. The pelts are larger, silkier and denser than marten from southern locations.

In 2002 the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Furs program was introduced to ensure hunters and trappers received a fair price for their pelts, and would not go into debt getting ready for each season.

Ninety-nine per cent of trappers in the NWT will be receiving a prime fur bonus following February's auction, he said.

Trappers receive a $25 bonus for each marten pelt that sells above the $65 advance price. On top of that, they also get the difference between the advance and selling price. Based on the average auction prices, that would amount to about $12.

Culford describes the program as an income assurance program, modeled after similar arrangements for farmers in southern Canada.

"The circumstances we are facing today is exactly the reason the program was introduced," said Culford.

Under the program, shipping costs are covered, which is a huge benefit he said.

To send a five-kilogram bag from the Sahtu to North Bay, Ont., costs upwards of $100.

It wouldn't be worth it for trappers to continue harvesting animals if these costs weren't covered, Rossouw said.

Between 600 and 800 trappers in the NWT sell their harvest through the government's Genuine Mackenzie Valley Furs label.