A number of fishing vessel co-ops are joining the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) in the group’s first expansion since 2004.
The added groups include the Akutan Catcher Vessel Association, High Seas Catchers Cooperative, Northern Victor Fleet Cooperative, Peter Pan Fleet Cooperative, Unalaska Fleet Cooperative, UniSea Fleet Cooperative, and Westward Fleet Cooperative.
The purpose for the addition of the co-ops is to help expand the GAPP’s promotion and publicity of pollock, the organization said.
In addition to the new co-op members, the board of directors has seen changes as well. Bob Desautel of Global Seas, Mikel Durham of American Seafoods, Doug Christensen of Arctic Storm Holding Company, Karl Bratvold of Starbound, Mike Breivik of Glacier Fish Company, Joe Bundrant of Trident Seafoods, Jim Carroll of North Pacific Seafoods, and Jim Donahue of UniSea have all joined the nonprofit’s board.
Efforts are underway in countries abroad to differentiate Alaskan-caught pollock from pollock caught elsewhere. For example, a GAPP-funded marketing campaign in Germany sought to differentiate Alaskan pollock from Russian-caught pollock in processed fish food products.
The German marketing campaign from two years ago was an example of the shift toward a more pronounced marketing wing for GAPP. According to IRS 990 tax filings, GAPP paid Shanahan Strategic Communications USD 414,003 (EUR 354,104) in 2016, up from USD 158,455 (EUR 135,529) in 2014. That number was expected to stay constant into 2017, though company officials were unwilling to comment on the budget for 2018.
GAPP member dues, which make up the lion’s share of the nonprofit’s revenue, increased from USD 255,286 (EUR 218,370) in 2014 to almost USD 1.08 million (EUR 923,886) in 2016, according to tax filings. With the addition of the new groups, that number is expected to continue to grow in the coming years.
