A top official with Peter Pan Seafood says his company is working with competitor Silver Bay Seafoods on possible joint venture processing opportunities in Valdez, Alaska.
“Even though it looks like nothing will happen regarding a JV (joint venture) between Peter Pan and Silver Bay in Prince William Sound, we will continue to try to find synergies that benefit community, fleet, and our customers, while at the same time boosting Peter Pan‘s bottom line,” said Peter Pan Seafood owner Roger May, who’s also president, chief growth officer and founder of Northwest Fish Co., LLC.
May’s comments came on the heels of reports from a seafood industry publication that Peter Pan, which came under new ownership two years ago, and Silver Bay, founded in 2007, were stalled in negotiations to engage in a joint venture.
“There are countless millions of dollars that are getting flushed down the toilet of inefficiencies in the industry,” he said in a statement emailed to Fishermen’s News in mid-May. “If only the majors could find a way to work pro-competitively especially during the shoulders of the seasons. These dollars need to go back to the fisherman, community, companies and customers to ensure the longevity of this great resource.”
Both companies, as well as other major processors, are facing inflation economics, with continuous rising costs of labor, transportation and fuel needed to keep processing millions of fish for distribution to wholesale and retail markets worldwide.
The famed Copper River salmon fishery opened May 15 and the Bristol Bay salmon fishery, the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, was anticipated to experience another robust season with a harvest of millions of sockeyes.