Trident Seafoods Remembers Alaska Fisheries Icon Bart Eaton

Bart Eaton. Photo courtesy of Trident Seafoods.

Bart Eaton, hailed as an icon in the Alaska fishing industry, is being remembered as the man who worked closely with the late Chuck Bundrant to make Trident Seafoods into North America’s largest vertically integrated seafood processing firm.

In a tribute posted on Dec. 19, Trident Seafoods said that Eaton, who died on Dec. 14 at the age of 85, had a life marked by adventure, dedication and service.

A celebration of his life was being planned for early 2025, according to Trident.

Born in Red Bluff, in California’s Sacramento Valley, Eaton graduated from Chico State College in 1963 and did a stint in the then newly-formed Peace Corps. After majoring in Asian Studies and learning the Indonesian language at the University of Hawaii, Eaton moved to Indonesia, where he volunteered as a boxing and track-and-field coach and served as an English teacher.

Eaton joined Trident Seafoods in 1984, after  his entry into Alaska fisheries by shoveling shrimp in Seldovia on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. It was there that he rose through the ranks to become a processing supervisor for Pacific Pearl Seafoods in Kodiak, and graduated from crewman on several vessels to skipper and owner of his first boat, the Amatuli.

He brought the Amatuli to Trident Seafoods along with an extensive knowledge of crabbing, tendering and fishing. As a partner in the company, Eaton worked closely with Trident Seafoods founder Bundrant. Former Trident Vice Chairman Steve Okerlund once described the pair as “unstoppable.”

Eaton had an incredible aptitude for connecting with and inspiring people, according to Chuck Bundrant’s son Joe, Trident Seafoods’ current CEO.

“His relationships with Alaska Native communities, fishermen, regulators and even competitors made him an invaluable asset to the company and Alaska fisheries,” he remarked.

Eaton’s influence in the industry extended into politics and fisheries management.

He was appointed to the first North Pacific Fishery Management Council in 1976 by then-Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and served until 1983. He also served as Alaska’s delegate to the Law of the Sea Conference in 1974 and 1975.

Additionally, he worked with Stevens on legislation that would become the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. He served on the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board from 1985 to 1990 and was a member of the Coast Guard Foundation for 25 years. He received the Foundation’s Lifetime Trustee award in 2019.

As a founding member of freezer longliner company Prowler Fisheries, Eaton helped create the modern-day Factory Longline Cod sector.

Even after retiring from Trident’s board of directors in 2015, Eaton continued to serve as an advisor and mentor to many, Trident officials said. In retirement he split his time with family and friends at his cabin in Karheen Cove in Southeast Alaska and his farm in Captain Cook, Hawaii, where he raised coffee and fruit and rounded up wild chickens and pigs.

“He was always ready to share his wisdom over a cup of McDonald’s coffee or at his favorite table at Ivar’s restaurant in Seattle,” Joe Bundrant said. “Bart’s legacy as a fisherman, businessman and mentor will be remembered by all who knew him.”