With the Kodiak Salmon Season just 3 weeks away, Island Seafoods’ fishermen are starting to trickle back into town. Paul Vick and his 2 man crew arrived yesterday and got right to work on one of his many skiffs. Everyone is dusting off gear that has sat idle since late September, making repairs on RSW systems (refrigerated salt water) and making sure outboard motors are in tip top shape. Our fishermen are keeping the local boom truck company busy hauling gear from the storage yard out in Bells Flats. There is plenty of activity at the dock and everyone is busy either offloading boats or packing halibut for fresh shipments, so I ran out to the yard and just got back with a huge generator for Jonathan and Virginia at Valley Point.

 This morning, we had the F/V Pacific Sun back at our dock with an impressive load of Halibut, Black Cod and Rock Fish. Once the fish are cleaned and graded by size, the case up crew places the halibut into 1000 pound totes with ice. This fish will ship out today and be at market places around the country in just a few days.

As soon as the Pacific Sun was finished offloading her catch, we had Captain Pete Thompson and the F/V Dues Payer II with a full load of halibut. At only 32 feet, the Dues Payer II was just able to squeeze around the bow of the 127 foot Pacific Sun and tie up under the main dock crane. Halibut from the Dues Payer II will be accompanying fish from the Pacific Sun on the trip south to market. Below, Captain Pete checks out a few nice halibut before they are loaded onto the cleaning table.

 

The action never stops at the Island Seafoods dock this time of the year. During the Dues Payer offload, Captain Peter McCarthy pulls up on the south side of the dock to change out some pieces of trawl gear. Down on deck, Peter’s oldest son Calvin secures the stern line. Calvin graduated from Kodiak High school last week and now plans on fishing for Dad full time. Peter says it will be strange to have his crew come home with him each night for dinner. But it sure beats having to comb the local bars looking for his crew!!

One of the best parts of working at Island Seafoods is my wife Rachel is able to bring our daughter Eydis down to the plant to say hi. I had a few minutes in between customers, phone calls and emails to show her some of the bright red rock fish from the Pacific Sun. I love her learning face, it is so intense. I am training her so when she is old enough she can help out Dad with the fish business!!

 

Tomorrow the 51^st annual Kodiak Crab Festival kicks off. Hopefully the weather will hold out and good times will be had by all. Until next time, Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

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This past week the weather here in Kodiak has been absolutely beautiful; low 60’s and plenty of sunshine and blue sky. With this run of flawless weather, the Kodiak Fishing Fleet has been hitting the grounds hard and keeping this little processing plant at full production. Over the last week, we have had dozens of deliveries from boats of every shape, size and harvest method.

The Kodiak Cod Jig fleet has been producing big numbers each trip. Almost 600,000 pounds were landed last week alone!  At this rate, they will have the quota filled in about a month, however fishing usually tapers off when salmon season starts, many of the jiggers participate in salmon fisheries here and other places around the state. The jiggers who stay, will keep plugging away at the quota,  making deliveries throughout the summer. Finding fish close to town has been the key to successful trips. Both Captain Bob Martin on the Argonaut and Captain Peter Allen on the F/V Orion made 3 deliveries each this week alone. Other boats who delivered this week include the Adgee, Bottom Line, Isanotski, Grayling, Fairwind, Grouper, Spectrum, Michelle B, Topaz and the Jericho. As long as the weather holds, these hard working fishermen will continue making regular deliveries of fresh Pacific Cod.

Deep Water sole fishing is still open and our two trawlers, the Coho and Stella also made deliveries over the weekend. We shipped fresh  rock sole fillets to our company, Pacific Seafood, for distribution to super markets throughout the west coast. Another processor here in town was shut down for the day, so we had a vessel making its first appearance at the Island Seafoods dock. The 100 foot F/V Mar Pacifico delivered a load of nice big rock sole on Saturday.

Island Seafoods makes the best use of our small processing facility. We have the ablity to process multiple species in the same room. Here we are running rock sole through the Carnitech heading machine, while just feet away, the crew cleans and grades halibut from the F/V Lady Lu.

The Halibut fleet has also taken advantage of this stretch of favorable fishing weather. Landings have been steady both here in Kodiak and at our plant to the north, Resurrection Bay Seafood in Seward. On Friday, we had the 124 foot F/V Pacific Sun back at our dock with some halibut and rock fish. The Pacific Sun had to cut their trip short and only made a small delivery due to some mechanical problems. The crew got everything fixed up and they are currently  back on the grounds hauling gear.

Also making Halibut deliveries at Island Seafoods, was the F/V Competition, the F/V Northern Jaeger, the F/V Dues Payer II, the F/V Lady Lu and the F/V Buccaneer. Here is a collection of photos from various halibut offloads this week. The first is Aitolu with a 180 pounder off of the F/V Competition.

Here, Abel moves halibut into position so Saul can cut off the heads.

Gelma cleans the inside of the halibut while Pedro checks the tail for chalk.

The halibut are then graded according to size. Here Abel steadies a 45 pounder on the scale.

Back outside in the thick fog, Aitolu is ready to weigh a tote of over-80 pound halibut from the F/V Buccaneer. 

Yesterday we experienced the thickest fog I have seen in years. In this photo, a full brailer net of halibut is lifted through the fog from the hold of the F/V Buccaneer and into a waiting tote. It was difficult to see the top of his mast and rigging!

As if it wasn't busy enough, we had the 800 foot Volendam in port. A thousand visitors walking up and down bustling Cannery Row made navigating the narrow street quite tricky. A few lucky passengers had the opportunity to watch the crew processing halibut from the F/V Buccaneer. 

The highlight of the week was the installation of our new sign over the retail store. We have one identical to this one for the ocean side of the building. Now visitors to Kodiak won't have any trouble finding Island Seafoods!

Because we cut heads on halibut this week for the first time this season, I now have Halibut Cheeks for sale!!  Sweet taste and delightful texture are the signature characteristics of Fresh Halibut Cheeks. Available Now!

Every day we are recieving items, gear, out board motors and equipment for our salmon fishermen. I will keep you posted about the exciting activity leading up to Salmon Season 2009.

Until Next Time, Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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To help generate excitement for the upcoming salmon season, I will be adding a Sockeye recipe and a “how to” entry into Today’s Catch. For this entry, I will be showing you how to make the perfect appetizer for your next party; Sockeye Fingers.

This super simple recipe will have your guests smacking their lips and licking their fingers. Prep work and clean up will be easy and you don’t have to worry about any leftovers.

First take 1 Kodiak Sockeye fillet and remove the skin. Start at the tail and with a sharp knife at an angle, make a cut. Hold on to the tip of the tail and with a sawing motion, work the knife back and forth toward the head of the fillet while you keep tension on the tail piece. Maintain a 45 degree angle with the knife blade and you shouldn’t cut through the skin.

Once the skin is removed, start at the tail and cut the fillet into ¾-1 inch strips. Arrange the strips on a cookie sheet covered with foil and lightly greased with olive oil.

Now the fun and creative part of the recipe. With this fillet, I was able to cut 19 strips. I added salt and pepper to all the fish, then for a few of them, I added a dab of BBQ sauce. On a few others, I drizzled a bit of Frank’s Red Hot, and the rest I used a cracked pepper and garlic mixture. Your  imagination is the only limiting factor with this recipe. You could have 25 pieces and 25 different sauces. Here are some favorites:

BBQ Sauce, Frank’s Red Hot, Teryaki, Honey & brown sugar, A1 Steak sauce, Ceasar dressing, Italian dressing, Lemon Pepper and sweet and sour. There are way too many to name them all, but if you like a particular sauce or condiment on other things, chances are it will taste good on Sockeye Fingers!!!

Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. Arrange them on a platter and let the good times roll. Your guests will each have their personal favorites and I guarantee you the fingers won’t last long!

 

 

 

This morning I had a customer ask if his talented chef /wife could send me a recipe and a picture from their kitchen highlighting some of Island Seafoods finest seafood. I would love to feature recipes and delicious photos of your creations. Email them to me and I will post them on Today’s Catch!

Until Next time, Happy cooking and Enjoy!

 

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Spring is officially here in Kodiak. We are gaining 5 minutes of daylight each day, building up to the Summer Solstice. The whole town is starting to buzz with a renewed sense of vigor. For us here at Island Seafoods, this is the time of the year when our salmon fishermen return to make preparations for another long summer at their fish sites.

 This summer we have 17 sites fishing for us. A “site” is where a salmon permit holder or holders and their crew members eat, sleep and work their nets. The salmon are caught with gill nets that are set in place with anchors. The nets have cork floats on top and on the bottom a weighted line. The salmon swim into this curtain of net and become caught by the gills. Each day when the fishery is open, the fishermen pick the fish from the nets and place them into the skiff. The fish are then transferred to a holding barge or skiff. These holding vessels chill the fish down to 32 degrees using a refrigerated seawater system.  Once or twice a day one of Island Seafoods’ 3 tender vessels come by each site and pick up fish, refuel skiffs, and deliver groceries and mail. When all the sites are picked up and serviced, the tender starts the 6 hour run back to Island Seafoods.

In the next few weeks, I will introduce you to some of the fishing families and unique salty characters who provide Island Seafoods with beautiful Sockeye Salmon. Veteran Kodiak Set Netters like Keith Moore and his sons at their site, Long Beach, Ross Kendall and family at Outlet Cape and Paul Vick at Lutra Lake. I will also be spending a day with Jonathan Edwards and Virginia Adams as they work their nets at their high producing site, Valley Point.

Before a single salmon can be caught, gear and equipment needs to be repaired, inspected and removed from storage. 12 miles outside of town lies the Island Seafoods Gear Yard. Here is where fishermen store cod pots, halibut gear, trawl nets and salmon skiffs and barges.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the next few weeks, we will start to haul each skiff and barge back to Island Seafoods to be staged and lowered in the water. Most of the skiffs will be lowered onto the tender, Zachary R and lifted off with his crane at the site. The big heavy holding barges will be towed behind the tender. All this work to bring you and your family the cleanest, purest fish in the ocean, Sockeye Salmon.

Until Next Time, Enjoy!

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Yesterday  my daughter Eydis celebrated her first birthday. My wife and I decided to not make a big to do about the occasion. Instead, we had a nice family dinner and she got to see all of her grandparents.  For her special day, I made her favorite dinner, Sockeye Salmon and steamed broccoli. She absolutely loves the salmon. It wasn't a challenge to get her to enjoy  seafood,  out of all the types she has tried,  salmon is her favorite.

It is a really good feeling knowing that I can provide her with the purest, cleanest, most healthy food for her little developing brain. The Omega-3 fatty oils in Kodiak Sockeye will help her grow strong and smart. 

Of course, she did have a cup cake for dessert. She ate all her salmon and vegetables first though!!!

If you want to try some Kodiak Sockeye Salmon for your family, give me a call or email me and I would be glad to offer cooking advice or support to get your family started  eating the best food in the ocean.

Until Next Time, Enjoy!

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