Copper River Seafoods Named Alaska Manufacturer of the Year
Copper River Seafoods has been honored as Alaska’s Manufacturer of the Year for 2023, with the award being presented Aug. 6 in Anchorage.
Copper River was chosen for the honor by officials with Alaska’s Commerce, Community and Economic Development (CCED) department.
CCED Commissioner Julie Sande cited Copper River Seafoods, which has offices in Cordova and Anchorage, for its innovation in utilizing seafood byproducts and offcuts.
“By ensuring that the entire fish is marketable, not just the prime cuts of every filet, the company has reduced waste and created more value for the Alaska seafood resources they process,” Sande said.
Fourth generation harvester Scott Blake and three fellow commercial Alaska fishermen founded the company in 1996. it has since grown to be a leader in Alaska’s wild seafood industry, with over 700 employees during the peak summer fishing season.
The company networks with harvesters statewide to acquire a variety of wild seafood, including halibut, rockfish, Pacific cod and salmon. It provides seafood for customers in Alaska, nationally and worldwide by collaborating with domestic delivery services including Vital Choice and Alaska Fresh, which provide direct delivery of premium Alaska Seafood.
Copper River Seafoods chief marketing officer Cassandra Squibb said the award is special “because it acknowledges our founders’ dedication to establishing our headquarters in Alaska, creating year-round jobs in the state’s seafood industry, and our commitment to manufacturing premium products locally.”
“By doing so,” she added, “we’re able to contribute to the local economy and supply the local market to ensure food security for our fellow Alaskans.”
Copper River Seafoods has become a key player in providing food security for Alaskans by supplying local food to local distributors, retailers and food service businesses in the state. Working in collaboration with the Anchorage School District, Copper River Seafoods was awarded a Partnership for Local Agriculture and Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to boost the volume of local food served in the schools.
ASD is one of only eight school districts nationwide to be awarded the grant. Through the program, Copper River Seafoods and the district are able to serve more wild Alaska seafood throughout local K-12 schools, CCED officials said.
ABSC’s Goen Appointed to Fishery Management Council
Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Executive Director Jamie Goen has been appointed to a Washington state seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to serve the remaining two-year term left vacant by the May 5 death of Kenny Down, a voting member of the council since 2015.
The appointment was announced Aug. 21 by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The crab sector of the commercial fisheries industry heralded Goen’s appointment as a positive step.
While employed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for 15 years, she focused on fishing quote programs, including implementation of the Trawl Rationalization Program. Before going to work for ABSC, Goen worked with the International Pacific Halibut Commission, overseeing the commission’s fisheries data collection programs.
ABSC welcomed Goen’s appointment, writing on social media that Goen would carry on Down’s legacy as a “fair and just voice in the council process for crab fishermen across the board, Alaska communities and the environment.”
Goen holds a master’s degree in marine policy from the University of Washington. She’s one of two council members from Washington; the other is Anne Vanderhoeven, a Seattle-based trawl lobbyist based who was recently reappointed to the council.
Former Microsoft Executive Named COO of Trident Seafoods
Former Microsoft executive Mike Quinn, a member of Trident Seafoods’ board of directors, has been appointed as the company’s new chief operating officer, effective Oct. 1, the company announced Sept. 5.
Trident also announced the appointments of Jeff Welbourn as president of Trident USA, and Kenji Nasu as president of Trident Alaska.
The addition of Quinn as COO and the appointment of Welbourn and Nasu to new leadership roles within the company are the next steps in Trident’s long-term vision to modernize operations and refocus its global commercial strategy, according to Trident CEO Joe Bundrant.
“These are the right leaders and the right changes that will position Trident for future growth, enabling us to continue our mission of responsibly sharing wild Alaska Seafood with the world,” Bundrant said.
Quinn has served on Trident Seafoods’ board of directors for the past five years. Before being named the company’s new COO, he worked at Microsoft Corp. for 25 years, where his leadership roles stretched from sales, global manufacturing and supply chain operations to strategic planning and finance.
Most recently, Quinn served as Microsoft’s vice president of sales-global account management.
Quinn’s wealth of experience leading complex, global businesses makes him the perfect leader for Trident’s new COO role, Bundrant said.
“Creating this new position and adding a proven leader like Mike is the next step in Trident’s evolution to a customer-centric, business unit-led strategy that will return value to all stakeholders. More importantly, as Mike has shown from his work on Trident’s board of directors, he is deeply committed to this company, our people, and the Alaska seafood industry.”
Before Microsoft, Quinn held multiple financial and leadership positions at various biotechnology and healthcare companies in Washington, California and Texas. His international experience includes assignments in Dublin, Ireland and Shenzhen, China.
Welbourn has been with Trident for over 17 years, most recently as senior vice president of Alaska operations. His commercial and operations experience includes establishing and maturing the company’s China business channels, leading global species management, and leading the company’s Alaska operations.
Nasu has been with the company for over 20 years, most recently as senior vice president of global species. Nasu joined Trident in 2004, when the company acquired Norquest Seafoods; Nasu had led its global species efforts. Prior to his years with Norquest, Nasu managed two Alaska-based salmon processing facilities for a Japanese seafood firm,
Omar Sadeque, who joined Trident in April 2023, is expected to continue to lead the company’s international business unit.
NOAA Names New Pacific Islands Region Administrator
Sarah Malloy has been named by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the new Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries’ Pacific Islands Regional Office. Malloy assumed her new role Sept. 9.
As Regional Administrator, Malloy is expected to focus the region’s work on the protection of endangered and threatened species and marine mammals, the sustainable use of marine life, and the conservation of the habitats on which the resources depend.
She’ll also work with the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center to integrate science into policy and management decision-making. They’ll work together for the conservation and management of domestic and international marine resources, according to NOAA.
“Sarah’s depth of experience in policy and management in the U.S. Pacific Islands is a tremendous asset to the region and the agency,” NOAA Fisheries Director Janet Coit said in a statement.
In her new role, Malloy manages the largest geographical area within NOAA Fisheries’ jurisdiction. It’s bounded by the Hawaiian Archipelago in the north, American Samoa and U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas in the south, and the Mariana Archipelago in the west.
The U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone within the region includes more than 1.7 million square nautical miles of ocean —roughly equal to the total EEZ around the continental U.S., including Alaska.
Specific land areas in the regional office’s jurisdiction are Hawai’i; American Samoa; Guam; Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; Pacific Remote Island Areas of Kingman Reef; Howland, Baker, Jarvis, and Wake islands; and Johnston and Palmyra atoll.
For 10 years, Malloy was the Deputy Regional Administrator for the Pacific Islands Regional Office. She led the region in a temporary capacity for the past two years.