ALASKA
WHITEFISH TRAWLERS
ASSOCIATION
WHO WE ARE
From Our Families to Yours
Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association was founded nearly 50 years ago in Kodiak, Alaska. Our members have decades of experience fishing in the waters off of Kodiak Island, the Bering Sea and the West Coast. We are primarily small family-owned businesses, with multiple generations working together 11 months a year to land and deliver healthy and sustainable seafood. The vast majority of our catch is certified as a sustainable fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
We are proud to deliver healthy and affordable wild seafood for your family to enjoy.
“Commercial fishing represents an immense opportunity to forge your own destiny. Largely, your individual potential is limited only by the amount of work you're willing to put in. That's why I love it.”
- Jake Everich, Owner/Operator, F/V Alaskan
WILD, SUSTAINABLE & AFFORDABLE
77% of what we catch in the Gulf of Alaska is pollock caught with a midwater trawl.
Most people are familiar with Alaska pollock – it’s what’s in fish sticks, fish fillet sandwiches, and imitation crab meat! Other fish we catch include Pacific cod, rockfish and flatfish (flounder and sole). All of these are an excellent and affordable source of lean protein.
COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
We work hard to ensure our fisheries will be around for future generations.
As family-owned fishing businesses we want to pass our legacy down to our kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and so on. We want healthy oceans and well-managed federal fisheries, and actively participate in the North Pacific Fishery Management Council process to ensure our unique perspective is heard. Fisheries management in Alaska is recognized as one of the best models for sustainable and protected species conservation management in the world.
We work hard to avoid and reduce bycatch, and when we can’t, we partner with SeaShare to get those fish into the hands of people and communities who need it most. SeaShare was founded in 1994 to help the seafood industry donate to hunger relief efforts throughout the United States.
We constantly collaborate with scientists, fishing gear manufacturers, and each other, to develop better fishing gear and monitoring technology. The way we fish today is very different from 30 years ago. We use midwater trawl gear much more often than bottom trawl gear; our bottom trawls have modified sweeps that keep gear off the bottom; and we are currently part of a pilot project to test electronic monitoring (EM) in place of human observers.
OUR MEMBERS
The Gulf of Alaska trawling community is small, with about 40 boats participating each year, and the number of owners and crew who live in Kodiak is even smaller. Most of our members, crew, and families live in Kodiak and homeport their vessels here. We are proud to be the backbone of the year-round fishing economy in Kodiak, and have a vested interest in making sure our industry lasts for many future generations to come. Learn more about our members.
