January 13, 2021 — Fishing rights and vessel ownership are transferring from a Seattle-based fishing company to two Alaskan regional economic development organizations and 30 communities.
The seller is Mariner Companies, owned by pioneering Bering Sea crabbers Kevin Kaldestad and Gordon Kristjanson. Two Community Development Quota organizations have purchased the company’s crab boats, and 30 communities have formed limited liability companies to purchase the quota, which amounts to 3% of the Bering Sea opilio and red king crab fishery.
The direct ownership of quota by communities is new in the area served by both Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation and the Coastal Villages Region Fund.
The BBEDC and CVRF are two of the six Community Development Program groups in Alaska, which are allocated portions of Bering Sea resources. The groups can then either lease their rights or develop owner-operator businesses themselves, but the proceeds return to the communities they cover through economic development programs.
Although the communities involved are included in BBEDC and CVRF programs, by establishing new LLCs for the communities, each one is able to have more control over how to best use the revenue the quota brings in.