My family has been continuously commercial fishing for 5 generations in Alaska, and in Washington before that. We deeply value our heritage as part of the unique communities where we live and work during the fishing season. Although I am not a member of a tribe, we honor their history and culture, and I'm so pleased to have the privilege of raising my daughter around the richness and blessing of our friends in the village. I participate in the governance of our fishery, and one of my main focus areas is watershed rights and protecting the continuation of traditional family fishing businesses. I've also spent as much time as possible learning about the biology of the salmon and fighting to protect the ecosystem as a whole. We have spent time with the University of Washington biologists (amongst other experts), travelling upriver to gather data and observe the salmon spawning areas, and working to understand everything we can about the inner workings of our fish. I have a huge respect for the incredible creatures that they are. The first tide is always emotional - to see them return, to have them so beautifully layered in ice, and prepared for people to enjoy healthy and delicious meals from our sustainable fishery. I truly believe that we eat wild to save wild! Promoting the value of our fishery as the last sustainable and record-return sockeye run on the planet gives people like us the opportunity to earn a living offering these fish to the world. I have kept my business small and flexible; this gives me ultimate control and traceability, and also allows me to keep expenses as low as I can, plus offering a variety of products so that as many people as possible can afford them. All of my farmers markets have matching programs and the ability to accept SNAP tokens. I have participated in food box programs whenever I get the chance. We also donate to and sponsor local organizations through Two If By SeaFoods. Even on a small scale, I feel that this makes a difference. A number of people doing at least a little can accomplish a lot!
Two If By SeaFoods
253-315-3105
About Two If By SeaFoods
I am the 4th generation to fish my Bristol Bay, Alaska set net site, and currently raising the 5th generation. We spend our summers at the family Fish Camp, focusing on quality over quantity, and retaining all of our catch for direct sales (rather than selling to the large processors). This means that we choose the tides we want to fish, catch a small amount of our allowed net length, and ice and preserve it immediately in small batches. Our salmon is then custom processed into a variety of smoked and canned product options, with everything starting from the same sushi-grade high quality salmon that are sold as fresh frozen. We work with other small businesses to accomplish this, including our three custom processors, local bush pilots and bush taxis, local freight companies, and other key pieces involved in getting a perishable, premium product out of remote Alaska to be made available nationwide. Our summer home is on the tundra overlooking the Naknek section of Bristol Bay, with the remainder of the year based in eastern Washington. We offer our fish at farmers markets in both eastern and western Washington, through local deliveries, and by shipping anywhere in the US.
Seafood Offered
Salmon16
Locations
1
Number of Fishermen Sourced From
17
Years in Business
What are the Local Catch core values?
The value statements outlined below aim to create a higher level of accountability and trust, both internally within the network and externally to the public, in order to advance the movement of Community Supported Fisheries (CSF) and like-minded community-based seafood operations.
- Community-Based Fisheries
- Fair Access
- Fair Price
- Eating with the Ecosystem
- Traceable and Simple Supply Chains
- Catch and Handle with Honor
- Community and Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management
- Honoring the Ocean
- Creativity and Collaboration
How does Two If By SeaFoods implement these values?
