Troll fishermen in southern Southeast Alaska have a new buyer for their king salmon. The Metlakatla Indian Community announced on April 4th that they had reopened the Annette Island Packing Company.
The Metlakatla processor operated for nearly a century until they stopped buying fish in 2018. Now, the 100% native-owned and operated plant is opening its doors again, though slowly. Metlakatla Mayor Albert Smith says it’s a big win for the community. Local fishermen will now be able to sell their catch in town, instead of bringing it all the way to Ketchikan.
“It’s something that we’ve been wanting to do for the last few years and we’re very excited to get the doors back open. We’re starting off slow with troll king salmon and our local halibut fishery. So we’ll be sending out fresh product. But it’s a good start,” Smith said.
The Annette Island Packing Company is reopening on the Annette Islands Reserve, the only native reservation in the state of Alaska. They resumed operation on April 4, just in time to buy local halibut during the three-day opening that began the following day.
Smith said that, for the Metlakatla Indian Community, the processor will create jobs and help with workforce development for community members, as well as job security for the troll fleet during a time of deep turmoil in the seafood market.
For Smith, starting out small is the key to buying fish at a time when it seems like processors across the state are shuttering operations.
“It’s just all about marketing. And we’re looking to get stuff out fresher and at a little bit of a smaller scale to start with,” he said.
Ketchikan-based troll fisherman Cody Cowan said it’s also a win for the troll gear group across the region. Having another buyer for his troll catch creates healthy competition in a market that he said “has shifted towards quantity and away from quality.”
Members of the Metlakatla Indian Community are able to catch chinook salmon in the waters around Annette Island year-round, with some regulations. For the rest of the troll fleet around Ketchikan, limited openings for king salmon will begin in June.
