Our Alaskan Fisheries

The Fishing Grounds
The North Pacific Ocean meets the mountain islands of Southeast Alaska in a nutrient-rich zone teeming with sea life. Our fishing grounds are these lively coastal waters.

King and Silver Salmon lure us offshore and we leave the mist-shrouded mountain islands far behind. Here the ocean is moody, sometimes rocking us gently on glassy smooth swells; other times tossing us in a rain-gray world of wind-whipped waves and spray.

Sometimes we fish the green glacier-carved fjords of the Inside Passage where the ocean waves are subdued but tides that sometimes measure 25 feet create swift swirling currents.

Thriving populations of marine mammals grace us with daily displays. Humpback whales spend their summers here rolling with gaping mouths through thick schools of herring. Dall porpoises and pacific white side dolphins skip and dance through wind-tossed seas while seals and sea otters cock a curious head our way.

Our Fisheries

Trolling for Salmon
Summer days in Alaska are long, and eager to catch the ‘early morning bite’ we roll stiffly out of warm bunks at absurdly early hours. We hoist anchor and motor out to the fishing grounds, arriving at daybreak. We snap monofilament fishing lines trailing gaudy lures onto strong trolling wires, then lower them deep into the water. The lines trail from long trolling poles lowered at 45 degree angles to the boat, creating a mini-school of up to 50 lures trailing below and behind the boat.

For some trollers the choice of lure is a science, for others, an art. We usually toss out a ‘smorgasbord’ until the fish show a preference for one type of gear. Sometimes the fishing is ‘hot’, with fish coming up on every hook. Other times we ‘scratch’ out a day with an occasional fish among lots of empty hooks.

The fish are caught and landed one at a time. They are brought aboard gently, to prevent bruising. Our salmon are gill-bled immediately, then meticulously cleaned and pressure-bled, ensuring that no blood remains in the tissues. We place the cleaned fish in our minus 40 flash freezer as soon as possible and always within one hour of harvest. We freeze some fish whole, while others are filleted, then frozen. We glaze the frozen fish with clean sea water, encasing them in a protective layer of ice.

Longlining for Halibut
Longlining is so called because baited hooks are snapped onto long lines which are laid across the sea bottom with anchors at each end. The gear is left to 'soak’ for several hours, and then is hauled aboard the boat. The flashing white of a two hundred pound halibut rising from the green depths causes excitement among even the most seasoned crews!

Like our salmon, our halibut receive gentle, meticulous and individual care, resulting in a product that is the best you can buy.

Pot Shrimping
Rose Fisheries Spot Prawns are harvested for us by Dan and Carol Sims aboard the Pacific Star, David and Melanie Sims on the Searcher, and Jess Sims with the Daniel G. Dan and Carol raised sons David and Jess aboard their various fishing vessels in the Southeast Alaska fisheries, and the tradition is continuing into the next generation. David and Melanie's sons Joe, age 12, and Frog (also known as Benjamin), 7, are already seasoned deckhands aboard their parents' fishing vessel.

The Sims harvest Alaska Spot Prawns in baited pots, or traps, left for a period of time on the sea floor. The prawns are brought aboard the vessel live then headed and flash frozen immediately. The result is a truly gourmet buttery prawn in demand by the best chefs and knowing connoisseurs.

“Product is always delivered timely and in perfect condition. This is an incredible product, and hard to believe it was frozen.”
Chef Barry Rosenberg, Director of Purchasing,
Scottsdale Culinary Institute