Fire reduces new Bristol Bay floating fish processor’s capacity

The Hannah, Northline Seafoods’ floating processor, anchors by Clarks Point successful nan Nushagak District. (Casey Chandler/KDLG)

An electrical occurrence has damaged 1 of 3 spiral freezers aboard Northline Seafoods’ caller floating food processor Hannah, which is anchored successful Bristol Bay’s Nushagak territory this salmon season.

The alloy is presently operating astatine a reduced capacity aft Sunday’s blaze, and different processors are taking connected immoderate of Northline’s fleet.

During a caller sojourn to nan Hannah, a dependable watercourse of frozen, full food emerged from a ample spiral freezer. Each food landing connected a conveyor loop was whisked distant to nan adjacent shape successful nan accumulation line.

These stiff food were immoderate of nan first sockeye salmon deliveries of nan play from Bristol Bay sportfishing vessels to nan Hannah, Northline’s brand-new floating freezer barge successful nan region.

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From location they made their measurement to grading belts, wherever they were sorted by size and past placed into acold retention for processing later successful nan year.

“So it goes done a spiral freezer, wherever it goes successful nan bottom, exits retired nan top, gets graded, and that goes into a box,” said Northline CEO Ben Blakey.

Blakey said it conscionable takes a fewer hours for nan spiral freezers to bring nan food down to their desired halfway temperatures. The thought is that freezing food astatine these ultra-low temperatures — and freezing quickly — makes a large quality successful maintaining quality.

“Our freezers run astatine astir antagonistic 60 degrees Fahrenheit,” Blakey said. “So they frost nan food very quickly, and very cold.”

But nan electrical occurrence nether 1 of nan Hannah’s freezers threw a wrench successful that plan. According to Northline, nan vessel’s squad of marine firefighters were nan first to respond to nan incident and extinguish nan fire. No 1 was injured.

A spokesperson for Northline told KDLG that freezer technicians and electricians are presently repairing nan system.

Workers load food into a spiral freezer aboard Northline’s processor alloy nan Hannah connected Saturday, June 30, 2024, a time earlier an electrical fire. (Casey Chandler/KDLG)

Brendan Flynn, who captains nan F/V Briney and fishes for Northline, said nan institution quickly alerted their fleet of nan incident.

“I deliberation astir of us, aliases each of us, received calls straight from Ben Blakey arsenic to what was going connected and what they were trying to do going forward. So location is, I think, a really bully transparency,” he said.

Flynn said that successful a connection to nan company’s fleet sent soon aft nan fire, Blakey recommended that boats see switching to different processors if they had that action available.

“Those who had fresh markets, a definite number of folks, person already transitioned over,” said Flynn.

Northline confirmed that astir 100 boats fished for nan institution earlier nan fire, and that astir half are now pinch different processors.

Flynn said he decided to stay.

“I’ve been sportfishing present for twenty-some years and been successful nan sportfishing manufacture my full life. This company, and nan measurement they’re structuring their business models, is nan champion chance for existent affirmative alteration — some for compensation for nan fisherman and producing a amended value merchandise — that I deliberation I’ve ever seen,” he said. “So we’re crossing our fingers and hoping for nan champion here.”

A spokesperson for Northline confirmed that each nan boats that near person done truthful voluntarily, and that nan Hannah has capable capacity for food from nan vessels that are staying.

Norm Van Vactor has been a wide head for Peter Pan Seafoods and for Leader Creek, and an advisor for Silver Bay Seafoods. He retired past year. He said it’s reliable to spot a setback for a newcomer, peculiarly aft a difficult twelvemonth for nan fishery — and he tin relate.

“It’s conscionable angst, and a existent consciousness of sympathy. Because erstwhile thing for illustration this happens, you’ve sewage fishermen who are limited upon our institution to bargain their food to process their food and to salary for them,” Van Vactor said.

Northline confirmed that 5 different processors successful nan Bristol Bay region will return connected immoderate of nan company’s fleet to accommodate for their reduced freezer capacity. Those processors see OBI, Silver Bay, Peter Pan, Leader Creek, and Red Salmon. None of those processors commented earlier this communicative aired.

Northline besides confirmed that different processors took food that had already been delivered by Northline’s fleet to tender boats. OBI confirmed that it took 1 of those tender loads.

“I deliberation it’s awesome to spot nan manufacture collectively respond and thief a competitor erstwhile they can. Because you cognize afloat good that it mightiness beryllium nan Hannah today, but it could beryllium you tomorrow,” Van Vactor said.

The timing isn’t perfect — Bristol Bay’s sockeye tally typically peaks wrong nan adjacent week. That intends salmon deliveries to nan freezer barge would ideally beryllium starting to prime up. But Van Vactor said it mightiness not beryllium nan worst lawsuit scenario.

He was astatine Peter Pan almost 20 years agone erstwhile a occurrence impacted capacity astatine nan Dillingham plant. He said that occurrence was astatine nan highest of nan season. So while different processors sounded in, location wasn’t overmuch they could do.

“I conjecture if there’s a metallic lining successful each of this, it is astatine nan beforehand extremity of nan season. It did hap astatine a constituent successful clip erstwhile location was a important magnitude of capacity available,” said Van Vactor.

While this is surely a setback for Northline Seafoods this season, he said, processors person weathered incidents for illustration this before.

In a statement, Northline’s Blakey said nan institution appreciated nan support from its fleet and was moving done repairs successful nan meantime.

Northline told KDLG that nan Hannah is presently operating astatine astir a 3rd of its accustomed accumulation capacity. The institution said Wednesday that it hoped to amended capacity complete nan adjacent 24 hours, and will proceed to run passim nan season.

Get successful touch pinch nan authors astatine fish@kdlg.org