Aerial view over False Pass, Alaska. Formerly Trident Seafoods' processing plant now taken over by APICDA and Silver Bay, appears on the right side of the image (in blue).
Photo: Trident Seafoods.
Silver Bay Seafoods and the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association (APICDA) announced a partnership regarding the facility of False Pass, Alaska, the former acquired from Trident Seafoods in June 2024 and which, in addition to the processing plant, includes a fuel business that provides critical fuel services to the community and fishing fleet.
When Silver Bay and Trident announced their agreement for the acquisition of the False Pass facility - the second after also taking over the Ketchikan plant following Trident's sale of four processing plants in Alaska - both companies successfully structured the deal to ensure a smooth transition for all stakeholders before the salmon fishing season.
Now, APICDA will assume ownership of the False Pass facility, and Silver Bay Seafoods will lease and manage the operations of the facility and fuel company. "This strategic partnership will support seafood processing stability in the region during a time of change in the seafood processing sector," read the joint release.
"The timing of False Pass acquisition early this summer allowed us to immediately provide critical fuel and services and maximized opportunity for our fishermen partners ahead of the 2024 season while we worked with APICDA and other local stakeholders on a long-term, mutually beneficial plan," said Cora Campbell, President and CEO Silver Bay Seafoods.
False Pass is a remote Southwest Alaska fishing community positioned between the tip of the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands on Unimak Island. The facility located there, which is now the subject of the agreement, was entirely dedicated to salmon processing when owned by Trident Seafoods but, before that, it was originally built and operated by APICDA as Bering Pacific Seafoods.
The plant processes sustainable seafood harvested in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska and is located adjacent to the original Silver Bay Seafoods' False Pass processing facility that opened five years ago, in 2019, and it is not included in this partnership.
As said, APICDA is a non-profit Community Development Quota (CDQ) organization. It is dedicated to strengthening local fisheries-based economies through increasing direct fisheries participation in the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands, building support infrastructure, and offering programs to assist the advancement of priority initiatives in its six member communities in the Aleutian-Pribilof region of Alaska, which include Akutan, Atka, False Pass, Nelson Lagoon, Nikolski, and St. George.
This is not the first partnership between Silver Bay Seafoods and APICDA, which have a history of successful collaborations to support fishermen in the region. For example, this spring, following the closure of the Peter Pan Seafoods (PPSF) plant in Port Moller, they worked closely together to support the operations of Nelson Lagoon fishermen.
Silver Bay Seafoods leased the facility from PPSF, which provided critical support services to local fishermen. For its part, APICDA operated its ice factory in Nelson Lagoon and supported a Silver Bay supply operation to deliver quality salmon to the False Pass plant, owned and operated by Silver Bay Seafoods.
"With the changes we are seeing in the seafood industry, our board recognizes the importance of expanding strategic partnerships to support the regional fishing economy and achieve common goals for the long-term benefit of our member communities," said Luke Fanning, CEO of APICDA. "Our priority here is ensuring our communities can keep fishing."
