Copper River Seafoods has signed a deal to acquire a salmon processing facility and associated assets in Bristol Bay, Alaska, that was previously owned by Extreme Seafoods.
“The timing couldn’t be better, we’re increasing processing capacity and supporting fishermen of the region during a projected banner year,” Scott Blake, president and CEO of Copper River Seafoods, said in a statement provided to SeafoodSource.
The Naknek facility gives the company access to sockeye salmon resources in Bristol Bay for what is expected to be a huge haul this summer. The operations there will create 70 new seasonal jobs in the region; the company employs 600 people during peak season at its locations around the state: Anchorage, Cordova, Kenai, Togiak and Kotzebue.
Blake added that frozen headed and gutted sockeye salmon and fresh sockeye fillets production will increase by 4 to 5 million pounds a year. The company will invest several million dollars in the plant over the next three years. It will produce fish that is certified by both the Marine Stewardship Council and Responsible Fisheries Management programs.
The Cordova-based company owns the Togiak Seafoods, Wildcatch and Bering Fisheries brands and also operates an online mail order program for fresh, frozen, smoked, jarred and canned Alaska seafood products.
