urbulence in Alaska’s seafood processing industry made headlines in 2024. Trident Seafoods, the largest employer in the sector, retrenched by offloading properties in Kodiak, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and False Pass, and the company postponed construction of a new megafactory in Unalaska. Peter Pan Seafood Co., a venerable brand for more than a century, folded entirely, going into receivership. Meanwhile, Silver Bay Seafoods is swooping in to expand its Alaska presence.

Underneath the feet of these giants, smaller processors weathered the same turmoil in harvest numbers and market prices. They navigate the storm by a compass that points to quality, sustainability, and investment in coastal communities.

“When fishermen have the opportunity to access a small processor, they are able to retain a higher value for their catch, their catch maintains higher quality, and their connection to consumers strengthens and ensures the sustainability of the system,” says Amanda Wlaysewski of Kvichak Fish Co. in Bristol Bay.

In an increasingly uncertain environment for fish numbers, both the small, local processors and direct-to-customer marketing become key to not only sustainable harvests but also in sustaining communities.

Kvichak Fish Co. was established in 2012 in Naknek as a custom processor where fishermen bring their catch to be cut. Wlaysweski explains, “Eighteen boats, both set net and drift boats, support my business, along with gill net gear and one long-line boat.”

The longliner uses baited hooks branching from a main line that, on a family-sized boat, might stretch less than 60 feet. (Industrial-scale longliners set hundreds of hooks along miles of line.) Mainly targeting groundfish like halibut, the industry is represented by the Sitka-based Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA).

One of ALFA’s programs is Alaskans Own, a not-for-profit community supported fishery. All of its proceeds go back to ALFA for fishery conservation and community health and resilience. Natalie Sattler, program director at ALFA, says, “Alaskans Own has been delivering wild, sustainable Alaska seafood to families throughout Alaska and the United States. Our fishermen are committed to producing the highest quality fish and practicing the most sustainable fishing method.”

Those methods, in addition to longlining, include trolling, drift gillnet, and set gillnet. They are considered sustainable because they bring in fish one at a time; therefore, they incur less bycatch of unwanted species. Alaskans Own pledges that all seafood is hand caught.

Eva’s Wild, a specialty distributor, boasts that its Bristol Bay sockeye salmon has the lowest carbon footprint of any “center of plate” protein. “We are committed to being a business who promises a circular economy, giving back to the source of our food products in Bristol Bay, rather than just taking from it,” says founder and CEO Mark Titus.

Before sharing the world’s richest salmon fishery with the world via the plate, Titus told the story of the resource as a documentary filmmaker. “After taking my films The Breach and The Wild to audiences across the United States, I created Eva’s Wild to answer the question I was asked at every Q&A: ‘What can I do to help protect wild salmon for future generations?’ Eating wild salmon from the world’s most sustainable sockeye salmon fishery bolsters the Bristol Bay economy,” says Titus. He adds that Eva’s Wild donates 10 percent of profits to The Bristol Bay Foundation, mainly to support post-secondary education for Bristol Bay’s Indigenous young people.

Plowing profits back into fishing ports is also a priority for Camtu’s Alaska Wild Seafoods in Cordova. The processor works with about 250 drift and set gillnet vessels.

Tu Trinh Dillon’s parents started the business in 2014. “The owners started this business as a fisherman family with great passion and reverence for the seafood industry,” says Dillon, the company’s office and operations manager. “Understanding the perspective as a fisherman alongside a deep appreciation for the town of Cordova, they established Camtu’s Alaska Wild Seafoods to give back to the community and give more to the fishermen.”

Small, sustainable seafood companies use these methods not just to avoid overfishing but also to handle the harvest gently.

“The proudest component of our business is the owners’ story and their utmost commitment to high quality,” says Dillon. “The quality in their salmon was noticed and revered by customers.”

Camtu Ho and Thai Vu are Vietnamese immigrants and built several successful businesses from the ground up. “Without any prior knowledge or help, Thai took his fishing boat out and taught himself how to fish salmon,” Dillon recalls. “The orders grew large enough where they had to purchase salmon from other fishermen.” Her parents then had to construct a processing line next to their grocery store to accommodate the growing shipments. Camtu’s Alaska Wild Seafoods now moves up to 6 million pounds of salmon annually.

Another fishing family with an emphasis on quality is Fish & Family Seafoods in Sitka. “I grew up in a fishing family and started spending time on our boat as a youngster,” says Lexi Hackett, who runs Fish & Family Seafoods with her husband, Adam. “As a teenager, I started crewing seasonally. Adam and I bought our first boat, a salmon troller, in 2009. We then upgraded to a freezer troller in 2014, which is also when we started our direct marketing business.”

Hackett admits that trolling is labor intensive, but the resulting catch is top notch. “We consider our catch—frozen at sea, troll-caught, ocean-run salmon—to be very special,” she says. “Freezer trolling is a labor of love, and we want to see our product reach people who appreciate it for its full worth.”

Hackett says one of her business goals is to maximize fish value and crew shares. That raises the price tag, so marketing efforts must sell the consumer on the benefit of small fisheries that come at a higher cost.

“Many people comment on the relatively high cost of wild Alaska seafood,” Hackett says. “I want readers to know that fishermen put a tremendous amount of work into each pound of seafood.”

The premium price pays for a high-quality product and to sustain the entire fishery. Hackett says, “We appreciate every customer who shops consciously and chooses hook-and-line-caught, wild Alaska seafood.”

Those conscious shoppers are all over the world.

“We sell both in and outside of Alaska. Anchorage, Fairbanks, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Brooklyn [New York], Oregon, and Wyoming,” says Wlaysewski. She started Kvichak Fish Co. as a custom processor mainly for personal use of sockeye salmon and Pacific halibut. “Subsistence and ‘homepack,’” she explains. “I had no idea the direct market business would follow so immediately.”

Direct marketing from Alaskans Own takes the form of a “build your own” gift box, in which customers can order specialty products harvested from Southeast waters. Alaskans Own also provides monthly seafood shares featuring a selection of in-season, premium quality, wild Alaska seafood harvested by its community of small-boat fishermen.

Sattler explains, “Monthly Seafood Shares are available in our Alaskans Own hubs (Sitka, Juneau, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Seattle, and Bellingham, Washington) and distributed once a month at a predetermined location and time.”

From the Copper River and Prince William Sound fisheries, Camtu’s Alaska Wild Seafoods offers fresh and frozen headed and gutted salmon and green roe from all five species of Pacific salmon. “We sell within Alaska, throughout the United States, and export internationally as well (Europe and Asia),” says Dillon.

Fine restaurants around the United States get Bristol Bay sockeye salmon from Eva’s Wild, which also sells direct to customers’ doors.

Restaurants are also a target for direct marketing from Fish & Family Seafoods for its frozen-at-sea king salmon, coho salmon, black cod/sablefish, rockfish, and lingcod. “We have our fish in restaurants in Sitka; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Hood River, and Bend, Oregon; and San Francisco and Marin County, California,” Hackett says.

For individual consumers, she adds, “We have pick-up locations for our small fish box sales in Bellingham and Seattle; Portland and Bend; Half Moon Bay, California. We also ship via overnight delivery to anywhere in the Lower 48.”

Hackett notes that direct-to-consumer small fish box sales only include product harvested from her family boat, F/V Myriad. “For our restaurant customers, we have branched out and now buy fish from three to four different boats in total,” she says. “All our partner boats are freezer trollers, just like us. In other words, they catch salmon using hook and line methods, then hand process each fish and immediately blast freeze them.”

The personal touch is key. “We know who is cooking up our fish, and our customers know who caught it,” says Hackett. “This direct connection motivates us even when fishing is slow and inspires us to process each fish with respect and care. It makes the whole job more fun and meaningful.”