Category: Alaska’s Historic Canneries

Mon, February 15, 2016

Cannery Sailboat #59 to be Restored for Duty

By Tim Troll Richard Sturgill and the folks at the Alaska Packers Association Museum in Blaine, WA have been busy restoring Sailboat #59 from the APA Dimond NN Cannery in Naknek. The boat was originally saved by Katie Ringsmuth's father, superintendent of the cannery. It was kept and displayed by Trident Seafoods for many years. Not long ago Trident donated the boat to the APA museum. Former APA/Trident Shipwright Steve Alaniz along with fellow shipwright Steve Ince have volunteered their time and skill... (Read More)

Fri, February 12, 2016

Pirate Cove & Cod

by Jim Mackovjak [caption id="attachment_4332" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Union Fish Co. codfish station at Pirate Cover on Popof Island, Alaska from May 1913. John N. Cobb Collection, Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, Wash.[/caption] The abundance of cod in the vicinity of the Shumagin Islands was well known, but Thomas McCollam, of the San Francisco-based Thomas W. McCollam & Company, was the first in the industry to perceive the advantages of establishing a shore-based fishing station in the Shumagins. In... (Read More)

Mon, January 25, 2016

Alitak Cannery: Looking Forward Towards 100 Years of Operation

by Anjuli Grantham 2017 not only marks the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Cession, through which Alaska went from being a Russian colony to an outpost of the United States, it is also the centennial celebration of the Alitak cannery. [caption id="attachment_4298" align="alignleft" width="300"] The Alitak processing plant, owned and operated by Ocean Beauty Seafoods. Image courtesy Ocean Beauty Seafoods.[/caption] Alitak is located near the Alutiiq village of Akhiok, on the south end of Kodiak Island. The Alitak Packing... (Read More)

Sat, January 02, 2016

Shrimping in Petersburg 1975

by James Mackovjak Alaskan Glacier Seafoods produces Petersburg shrimp, a highly esteemed cocktail shrimp, and is the last hand-pick shrimp operation on the West Coast. A family-style business, it has been active in Petersburg, Alaska, since 1916. [caption id="attachment_4280" align="alignleft" width="300"] Dave Ohmer, Alaskan Glacier Seafoods. Petersburg, Alaska ca. 1975. (Photo courtesy Jim Mackovjak.)[/caption] Four species of shrimp were commonly caught near Petersburg, Alaska. Most sought after by Alaskan Glacier Seafoods trawlers were pink shrimp (Pandalus borealis), which constituted... (Read More)

Sat, December 19, 2015

Bless me Father, for I have Seined

compiled by James Mackovjak Here are some excellent shorts on seining in Alaska (complete with references) from the 1890s through the 1930s. 1890s: “In 1893, when our company started fishing, we found it very difficult to conduct successful seining operations at Karluk Spit due to large numbers of rocks and boulders in the fishing area which continually snagged the seines. Alaska Packers Association therefore found it necessary to remove these rocks and boulders by dynamite. The work continued over a period... (Read More)