Peter Pan Seafoods Archives

ALASKA: Peter Pan Seafoods halts operations at processing plants

April 24, 2024 — Officials at Peter Pan Seafoods in Anchorage have reached an agreement with Silver Bay Seafoods to operate Peter Pan’s facilities in Port Moller and Dillingham this summer, but have

announced no plans for the future of its historic processing facilities at King Cove.

Peter Pan had announced earlier that the processing plant at King Cove would not be open for

the groundfish A season, leaving King Cove residents hoping that there would be processing for the B season and other fisheries as well.

Then on April 4, Peter Pan posted a notice on Facebook saying that the company was saddened to share that Peter Pan would be halting operations at its processing plants, leading to discontinuation of both summer and winter production cycles for the foreseeable future.

Read the full article at The Cordova Times

Processor executives and biologists consider what smaller fish mean for Bristol Bay

August 6, 2021 — The average Bristol Bay sockeye this year is smaller. That’s part of a trend over the past four decades, as increasingly smaller fish have returned to the bay amid larger salmon runs and warming oceans. Processor executives and biologists now have to consider what smaller fish mean for Bristol Bay.

Bristol Bay is home to the largest sockeye run on the planet. But while the size of the run broke records, the fish are getting smaller.

Last year’s average weight for sockeye was 5.1 pounds. But the 2021 average was just 4.5 pounds, according to the McKinley Research Group.

Jon Hickman is the executive vice president of operations for Peter Pan Seafoods. He says the smaller fish play a role in how much time processors spend processing.

“Smaller fish are going to take longer to process,” he said. “So you’re handling a 4 pound fish or a 3 pound fish, as opposed to a 5 pound fish so every time you handle one there’s a two pound difference. There’s more labor going into those smaller fish. You get more labor into them, there’s more costs associated with those smaller fish.”

Hickman says he isn’t worried about how the smaller fish will play in Peter Pan’s markets — demand is good, and he’s comfortable with the market for fish big and small.

Read the full story at KDLG

Alaska salmon report: Troll kings worth more than oil; base price up in Bristol Bay

July 20, 2021 — Early prices to Alaska salmon fishermen are trickling in. As anticipated, they are up across the board. That will give a nice boost to the economic base of both fishing communities and the state from fish taxes, fees and other assessments.

About a third (62 million) of Alaska’s projected catch of 190 million salmon had crossed the docks by July 16 at the halfway point of the fishing season.

Prices paid to fishermen vary based on buyers, gear types and regions. And bonuses and post-season pay adjustments won’t be finalized until early next year.

Here’s an early snapshot of average base prices from major processors at this point in the season:

At Bristol Bay, the price to fishermen was boosted to $1.25 by OBI Seafoods, topping the $1.10 Peter Pan posted in June before the start of the fishery, and up from 70 cents last year.

Kodiak fishermen were getting $1.45-$1.50 for sockeyes and $1.75 at Southeast.

That compares to a statewide average of just $0.76 a pound for sockeye salmon last year. A 2021 catch of 46.6 million sockeyes was projected for Alaska; the total so far has topped 44 million.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Promising prices, record landings for Bristol Bay sockeye

July 7, 2021 — Alaska’s Bristol Bay salmon season is off to a strong start in what is expected to be another harvest hovering around all-time highs for both catch and value in the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.

Fish were already pouring in to at least two of Bristol Bay’s four major river systems. As of July 1, the bay had produced 9.02 million commercial sockeye landings — 46 percent above the five-year average — on a preseason prediction of more than 36 million sockeye, according to area biologist Tim Sands with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

By Tuesday, July 6, that total was above 14 million sockeye.

While early returns look good, test fishing indicates the run should sustain for a relatively long period of time, which should help the fishery avoid bottlenecks in fishing and processing.

Last season’s compressed run, coupled with covid-19 complications, strained Bristol Bay’s fishermen and processors. The Bristol Bay fishery also slogged through the pandemic last season with a disappointing base price of just $0.75, but got early, unexpected news that Peter Pan Seafoods will pay a base price of $1.10.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Council’s Swift Action on BSAI Cod Shuts Down Efforts to Restore Adak’s Seafood Economy

June 24, 2021 — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council moved quickly to adopt a preliminary preferred alternative (PPA) to rationalize the last major race for fish in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands — trawl-caught Pacific cod — which also relegated Adak’s state-of-the-art seafood plant to the bottom of the pile in terms of access to the resource.

“I am announcing today that, based on the Council’s preliminary preferred alternative in the CV [catcher-vessel] trawl package, Peter Pan Seafood Company is suspending all further work in Adak,” said Steve Minor, Manager of Business Development for Peter Pan, on the day after the Council approved the motion.

Read the full story at Seafood News

ALASKA: Record Copper River salmon prices boost market optimism ahead of bigger Bristol Bay fishery

June 15, 2021 — It’s been a tough spring for the Copper River sockeye fishery in Southcentral Alaska.

Copper River is among the first fisheries to offer fresh salmon — its runs signal the start of the state’s commercial season. But the low number of sockeye returning this year has led to limited opportunities to fish.

The run is picking up, but until last week the season was similar to 2020, which finished with some of the lowest sockeye catches on record. But one thing is very different from last year: A record-high price for salmon.

“Markets were hot. And we were able to pay that price and pass it on to the fishermen,” said Jon Hickman, the executive vice president for Peter Pan Seafoods.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

ALASKA: Record-high Copper River prices boost market optimism ahead of the Bristol Bay fishery

June 14, 2021 — It’s been a tough spring for Copper River’s sockeye fishery.

The run is picking up, but until last week the season was similar to 2020, which finihsed with some of the lowest sockeye catches on record. But one thing is very different from last year: A record-high price for salmon.

“Markets were hot. And we were able to pay that price and pass it on to the fishermen,” said Jon Hickman, the executive vice president for Peter Pan Seafoods.

In May, the company announced that it would pay triple last year’s prices for sockeye and kings. This year, it will pay $19.60 per pound for kings and $12.60 a pound for sockeye. In 2020, sockeye went for around $4 and kings for $6.

The Cordova Times reported retailers’ pre-orders for sockeye fillets were as high as $54 a pound. King fillets went for up to $80 a pound.

Read the full story at KDLG

Maruha Nichiro sells Peter Pan Seafoods, takes USD 27.9 million loss

November 2, 2020 — Maruha Nichiro has announced it has sold its U.S. subsidiary Peter Pan Seafoods to entrepreneur Rodger May and McKinley Capital management, resulting in a USD 27.9 million (EUR 24 million) loss for the company.

In a notice “regarding the transfer of fixed assets of a consolidated subsidiary of the company,” Maruha Nichiro announced that it reached an agreement for the sale of the Alaska-based processing factory, to be completed on 31 December. The exact price that May paid for the company will not be disclosed.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Sockeye ex-vessel prices in Bristol Bay, Alaska drop nearly 50 percent

July 24, 2020 — Major processors in Bristol Bay, Alaska, began posting base prices at USD 0.70 (EUR 0.60) per pound, just over half of last season’s price of USD 1.35 (EUR 1.16). Bristol Bay’s KDLG radio station reported that Peter Pan Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, Red Salmon/North Pacific Seafoods, and OBI Seafoods had all announced their price, with processing giant Silver Bay Seafoods yet to post.

Once one of the major processors in Bristol Bay announces the base price, the others typically follow suit. If a processor announces a lower price than a competitor, they risk angering their fleet and losing boats to other companies.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US fishing industry breathes sigh of relief as H-2B visa program expanded

July 24, 2017 — An announcement made last week by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to expand a guest worker program was met with a mix of cheers and frustration by seafood industry representatives and elected officials from key states in the trade.

DHS Secretary John Kelly said he agreed to expand the H-2B visa program through the rest of the fiscal year, which ends in September. The visa program, designed for temporary workers coming to the country to fill nonagricultural jobs, helps employers fill jobs they say would otherwise sit vacant.

Congress established a cap of 66,000 such workers this year, with 33,000 visas available during both halves of the year. However, in May, lawmakers gave Kelly the authority to consider a one-time extension in the program. Over the last couple of months, DHS officials worked with the U.S. Department of Labor to establish guidelines regarding the expansion.

In past years, the seafood industry benefitted greatly from the visa program. According to data from the Center for Immigration Studies, Alaska-based Silver Bay Seafoods employed 971 H-2B workers – more than any other employer in the country last year. Peter Pan Seafoods, Inc., received approval for nearly 400 H-2B workers at its Alaska operation, while in North Carolina, Capt. Charlie’s Seafood employed 200.

Read the full story at Seafood Source