obi – Fishermens News

OBI, Ocean Beauty Seafoods Settle Class Action Wages Lawsuit

18Dec

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OBI, Ocean Beauty Seafoods Settle Class Action Wages Lawsuit

A federal district court in Washington state has ordered OBI Seafoods and Ocean Beauty Seafoods to pay $2.1 million to resolve a class action lawsuit for paying employees late and underpaying them during mandatory quarantines put into effect during the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman for the Western District of Washington signed the order on Dec. 5, ordering the two seafood processing companies to pay $2.1 million to class action members and $10,000 each to plaintiffs in the case, Marija and Dusan Paunovic, plus related settlement administration costs and attorney fees. OBI CEO John Hanrahan said in a statement obtained by the publication Seafood Source that his company “values its employees, pays competitive wages, and complies with all federal, state an...

Kodiak Setnet Fleet Saves Season by Linking Up With Silver Bay Seafoods

16Oct

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Kodiak Setnet Fleet Saves Season by Linking Up With Silver Bay Seafoods

Veteran salmon setnetters in Kodiak, Alaska’s Alitak District have struck a deal with Silver Bay Seafoods after long-time buyer OBI dropped the Alitak setnet fleet from its roster, citing economic concerns. OBI’s decision to drop the setnetters had left them with no established means for gearing up remote fishing camps, fueling boats and selling their catch, wrote veteran harvester Hannah Heimbuch, who is a fisheries policy and communications consultant with Ocean Strategies, a public affairs firm specializing in seafood fisheries and marine resources. “After a spring of chaos, the fish ultimately pulled us through in Alitak this year,” Heimbuch wrote in Ocean Strategies’ latest fisheries policy report, released Oct. 1. “While salmon runs statewide were inconsistent in both re...

OBI Shutters Alitak, Kodiak Island Plant

20Mar

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OBI Shutters Alitak, Kodiak Island Plant

Salmon harvesters at Alitak, located in Lazy Bay on the southern tip of Alaska’s Kodiak Island, are reeling after an announcement from OBI Seafoods that its Alitak facilities would not be buying fish from setnetters or even providing normal services for setnetters during the 2024 season. The operational costs have become uneconomical due to lower harvests, high tender costs and the cost of providing ice and other services, OBI COO Brian O’Leary announced March 11. OBI would be open to purchasing Alitak setnet fish only if the fish are taken to Kodiak, O’Leary said. Maintenance and retail services at the former Lazy Bay cannery at are being halted, the company stated, adding that OBI’s Alitak facility will also not be open for services including ice, laundry, boat labor, garbag...

13Mar

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OBI, Peter Pan Seafoods Score Winning Bids for USDA Salmon Solicitation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated OBI Seafoods and Peter Pan Seafood Co. as the awardees of contracts for thousands of cans of wild Alaska pink salmon to be delivered to needy recipients nationwide. A March 6 USDA announcement said that the contracts include 713 truckloads of 14.75 -ounce canned pink salmon valued at $53,882,923 from OBI Seafoods and 242 truckloads of 14.75-ounce canned pink salmon valued at $17,240,660 from Peter Pan Seafood. The food is set to be delivered from May 16, 2024 through Feb. 28, 2025. The purchases were made under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935, which authorizes USDA to support prices of commodities in surplus by purchasing them in the marketplace, and also authorizes USDA to distribute commodities domes...

OBI Halts 2024 Salmon Processing at Larsen Bay Plant

7Feb

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OBI Halts 2024 Salmon Processing at Larsen Bay Plant

OBI Seafoods has canceled plans to operate its plant at Larsen Bay on Kodiak Island for the 2024 salmon season, citing a poor pink salmon forecast from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, plus tough global market conditions for salmon products in general. That decision, announced Jan. 31 by OBI CEO John Hanrahan, marked yet another decision by major processors of wild Alaska seafood to deal with challenging economic conditions in global seafood markets. Salmon caught on Kodiak Island by the OBI Seafoods fleet will be processed at its facility in the town of Kodiak. Hanrahan said that capacity should not be an issue, with OBI’s Seward and Cordova facilities able to support Kodiak during the peak of the season in August. “The Kodiak town plant operates year-round and has the...

8Nov

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Hanrahan to Succeed Palmer as OBI CEO

Seattle-based OBI Seafoods this week announced a change of command in its executive leadership, with John Hanrahan to become chief executive officer following the December retirement of CEO Mark Palmer, who has been with the company for 40 years. The company also announced that Monica Hollenback was being promoted to chief financial officer, filling the vacancy left with the pending retirement of CFO Tony Ross, also in December. Palmer began his career with Ocean Beauty as a truck driver in Idaho and held numerous positions before becoming CEO in 2007. When Ocean Beauty merged with Icicle Seafoods in 2020 to become OBI, he became CEO of the new firm. OBI board of directors co-chairs Len Stewart and Robin Samuelson said in a Nov. 6 joint statement that OBI was fortunate to have...