From the Founder:
Petersburg, AK is a small coastal town located in Southeast Alaska. As someone from Alaska who is always being asked where in Alaska am I from, I always have described Petersburg as being located in between Juneau and Ketchikan! Petersburg is a fishing town. Founded by a fisherman who was looking for a strategic location to build a cannery for processing fish, Petersburg breathes commercial fishing. Growing up in this town, I idolized these guys. Commercial fishermen who have been fishing for generations. These are the guys I aspired to be and couldn’t wait to have the chance to begin working on a boat!
My commercial fishing career started when I was 14 years old and lasted throughout college. These experiences created the foundation for the Wild Alaskan Seafood Box and introduced me to fisheries throughout the state of Alaska. Without my commercial fishing experience, Wild Alaskan Seafood Box would not exist. After college I began a career working for seafood companies in Alaska and learned the ins and outs of seafood production, quality, sales, and operations. Although this next career path took me all over the state, I was still connected to Petersburg. The first company I began working for was founded in Petersburg. The second company I worked for had operations in Petersburg, no matter where I went the connection never left.
When we launched the Wild Alaskan Seafood Box, I knew exactly where we had to source the majority of our seafood…. any guesses? The foundation of the Wild Alaskan Seafood Box was very simple. We must source amazing seafood directly from amazing Alaskan fisherman. We needed to source from my friends, the guys we are connected to, and who have been connected to these fisheries for generations. Our direct access to Wild Alaskan Seafood and the fisherman allows us to tell the story behind all of our seafood items included in the boxes! Fortunately, my friends were on board. We’ve been able to work directly with multiple boats to source seafood such as Blackcod, Rockfish, Halibut, Sockeye Salmon, King Salmon, and Coho Salmon. The fisherman harvests the seafood and then deliver to small mom and pop processing operations right in Petersburg, AK. The process has been unbelievable. We know who is catching the seafood and who is packing and freezing the finished product
The fishermen benefit as well. We are typically able to pay the fisherman more for their seafood than they are receiving from the bigger operations and buyers. Although we currently buy from these guys in small volumes, we are able to support them and their crews. Every fishing boat is comparable to a small business. These guys all have boat payments, fuel costs, food costs, and they have to pay their crew!
From the age of 14 to now being 32 years old, our roots lay here in Petersburg. We are honored to work directly with the fisherman and processors in this community and do everything we can to support them. We are just as honored and amazed by the support of all of the members of the Wild Alaskan Seafood Box who have made a decision to choose us, which means you have all chosen to support small boat fisherman and wild fisheries. We look forward to updating you in future blog posts on upcoming partnerships with fisherman and processors in Petersburg! Thank you all.
