PORTLAND, Ore. — In 26 years, Frank Dulcich has transformed Pacific Seafood Group from a minor fish distributor in Southeast Portland to perhaps the dominant seafood player in North America.
But a class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that Dulcich has built his $1 billion-a-year empire on the backs of the fishermen who provide Pacific Seafood with its product.
Lloyd Whaley and his son, Todd Whaley, both commercial fishermen based in Brookings, on Tuesday filed a class-action suit in U.S. District Court in Medford alleging that Dulcich and his company has abused the company's market power.
The Clackamas-based company has used its huge resources and an array of hard-nosed tactics to control the West Coast seafood industry and suppress prices paid for certain seafood product by as much as 15 to 50 percent, the Whaleys claim.
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Photo by Michael Lloyd, The Oregonian