Tag Archives: Joe Bundrant
Dire condition of Alaska’s seafood industry has many causes and no easy fixes, experts say
State officials and industry leaders trying to rescue the ailing Alaska seafood industry are facing daunting challenges, recently released numbers show. The industry lost $1.8 billion last year, the result of low prices, closed harvests and other problems, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. State Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, part of a task force charged with making recommendations on ways that lawmakers can help rescue the industry, said the solutions will be difficult and will require the full attention of his colleagues next year. Joe Bundrant, chief executive officer of Trident Seafoods, described how Russian fish production is part of a “perfect storm” of low prices, devaluation of Alaska’s product and a geopolitical landscape “like I’ve never seen anything close to it.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:36
F/V Kodiak Enterprise: Unified Command stands down for vessel fire in Tacoma, Washington
The Unified Command composed of Tacoma Fire Department, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound, Washington Department of Ecology and Puyallup Tribe of Indians, with support from several other agencies, which was stood up to respond to the April 8 fire aboard the fishing vessel Kodiak Enterprise moored in the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma, was stood down Friday. Over the last several days, responders alternated between removing fuel and pockets of water, to maintain vessel stability. All of the diesel remaining aboard the vessel was successfully removed with no fuel spilled or sheening observed during defueling operations. Now that the pollution threat has been mitigated, the Unified Command has stood down. >click to read< 08:51
Trident Seafoods purchases 300-foot at-sea processor
Trident Seafoods has reached agreement with Aleutian Spray Fisheries Inc. to acquire the 300-foot at-sea processor C/P Starbound for use in its wild Alaska Pollock and Pacific whiting fisheries,,, The C/P Starbound, built in 1989 as a 240-foot factory trawler for use in the Bering Sea, underwent a $45 million renovation in 2015 that involved slicing the vessel down the middle and welding in a 60-foot addition. This expansion added state-of-the-art processing capacity, enabling full utilization of every sustainably caught wild Alaska Pollock harvested, >click to read< 11:56
At Seattle-based seafood giant Trident, a new generation is at the helm
Joe Bundrant’s first Alaska summer with Trident Seafoods was back in 1979, a tense time for the Seattle-based company founded by his father Chuck Bundrant. The Bristol Bay salmon run was in full swing. But a bitter strike over low prices kept nets out the water, and shut down the regional harvest. Chuck Bundrant had piled up debt to build the Bountiful, a 165-foot processing vessel that was then only a year old. He didn’t want it to sit idle. So, he urged the fishermen to cross the picket line and allow him to freeze their sockeye catch. When the season was over, he pledged to settle with them on a fair market value “He just said, ‘Trust me.’ And those guys went fishing. It was a very powerful lesson for a young guy,” click here to read the story 12:35
