A Bristol Bay resident on vacation in the Lower 48 last week was surprised to pick up a package of Ocean Beauty Seafoods Cajun smoked salmon and find on the back the words “Farm Raised, Product of Chile.”
Ocean Beauty Seafoods — a major player in the U.S. seafood market — is half owned by the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit community development corporation that provides jobs, training and educational opportunities to eligible residents of Bristol Bay. The corporation – founded in 1992 as the Community Development Quota holder — is also charged with providing economic development tools and resources for communities in the region — particularly in relation to fisheries.
So a company half-owned by Bristol Bay fishermen selling farmed salmon products was a surprise to some, especially fishermen who remember the price dive Alaska salmon took in the ’90s as farmed fish began flooding the market.
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