Copper River Seafoods announced on Tuesday that it will not operate on the Kenai Peninsula this salmon season due to the increased challenges the fishing sector is facing in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska.
In a letter shared online, the CEO of Copper River Seafoods, Scott Blake, stated that, as the company enters its 26th year of operating around the State of Alaska, it has been forced to make the move due to a series of factors.
“Due to changes in the Cook Inlet salmon management plan, rising production costs, and the poor forecast, Copper River Seafoods will not be operating during the salmon season on the Kenai Peninsula this year,” Blake said in the letter.
While Copper River Seafoods will be stepping aside from that area this year, the company stated that it was “committed to building strong groundfish programs on the peninsula in Homer and Whittier,” as well as the company’s Cordova location.
With the seafood company absent in the Kenai area this salmon season, Rogue Wave Processing will be “buying in Kenai, Kasilof and Ninilchik and processing at the K-Beach Road plant,” Copper River Seafoods announced, ensuring that permit holders have “another strong buyer in the Inlet.”
A formal announcement from Rogue Wave Processing is expected in the coming weeks.
Copper River Seafoods has been in operation since 1996, when it was launched by four Alaskan fishermen, the company’s website states. “The objective behind Copper River Fine Seafoods was to process and promote the superior Copper River salmon in a way that would respect its quality, generate a fair profit for fishermen, and introduce consumers to the savory world of seafood,” Copper River Seafood adds.
Concluding his letter, Blake thanked fishermen, vendors and others they’ve worked with for their support during the company’s time operating in the Kenai peninsula.
