Almost 20 years ago, Alaska Glacier Seafoods opened up for business in Lemon Creek.
Co-owner Jim Erickson says they started small.
“We were sport fishing, and we started catching more fish than we could eat,” he says, recalling the loads of fish he hauled up the ramp from the docks in Auke Bay. “So, what’s the next logical step? Well, we should figure out how to sell this.”
The company has grown a lot since then. Ten years ago they moved into their current facility in Auke Bay. Erickson estimates they processed about 13 million pounds of seafood last year.
Transporting fresh seafood out of Juneau can be a logistical challenge. Live crab is especially difficult.
“We’re probably the largest shipper of live king crab in the state of Alaska”, he says. “We actually charter Alaska Airlines 737s from Kodiak straight to Seattle. All the crab rides first class.”
He says Alaska’s reputation for sustainable seafood has helped them grow.
“Alaska is really a showcase for the rest of the world in sustainability,” he says. “That’s important to people around the world.”
The company has taken their own steps towards sustainability, aiming for full utilization of their product. Meat left along the backbone after filleting a salmon is now scraped off for use in products like salmon burgers. Other fish parts that were once discarded are now ground up for pet food.
Erickson takes pride in the business he helped build. “At the end of the day, you’re producing somebody’s dinner, somewhere in the world, and that means a lot to us and we take that seriously.”