Our Alaska Story
From a Dream to a Reality, From a Hobby to a Profession
The "Short Version" of a "Long Story" - By: Mark Arnold
It all started in about 2017 with my strange fixation on The Inside Passage from Washington to Alaska. (Truthfully, it started about 30 years before that when I first started catching fish on my own!) We bought a boat, 'New Moon', a 26-foot Diesel Pilot House Cruiser, took some trips to learn the boat & equipment, then set out to 'Cruise the Inside Passage'. In late May of 2019 we hauled the boat to Prince Rupert BC and set out to realize our (my) dream. In the 3+ weeks spent cruising Southeast Alaska and living on the boat I fell in love, while Sara and Anna developed a love-hate relationship. The ocean was amazing and overwhelming. Some days gorgeous and serene, other days like something from a nightmare or a Jules Verne/Herman Melville/Ernest Hemingway Novel. Between weather and mechanical failures, there was more than one occasion where we were in way over our heads. A trip of a lifetime in more ways than one!
After returning to Colorado, I found that towing a 26', 13,000lb boat up and back through the US & Canadian Rockies was something I NEVER wanted to do again, but I really wanted to spend time up there and on the boat. So I started to look for a place to store the boat in Southeast Alaska. Rather than finding storage to rent, I found a mini-storage and duplex to buy. I made a deal on the place at Christmas of 2019, before 'Covid' was a thing yet, closed in May of 2020, when the world was shut down, and spent the next few months thinking I had just made the biggest mistake of my life! I shipped the boat and a load of household stuff and tools up in late June and we arrived to Prince of Wales Island on July 4th. Turns out it was a good decision after all. We rent out storage units in the mini-storage and do VRBO out of the duplex.
We learned a lot those first trips up. Things like: Catching fish is not a given, It rains A LOT, and As a non-resident you are only allowed ONE King Salmon per year. Immediately, I started to figure out a way to be able to keep more fish legally. We had too much invested to be so limited on our harvest, and becoming an Alaska resident just wasn't practical. So in 2022 I bought a Commercial 'Hand-Troll' Fishing Permit. (the "Hand" part of Hand-Troll means that I cannot use electric or hydraulic cranks or winches. Everything is 'hand-cranked') This permit allows me to catch Salmon during the 'Troll' Seasons, but there are still strict limits. The 'Summer Troll Season' opens on July 1st each year. Often the Summer King Retention Period typically closes after only 4-8 days due to the very limited quota of King Salmon allotted to the Troll Fleet each year. The Coho Retention Period will continue into September or October. While I can keep more than one King a year, I still have to be on top of my game for those few days to get enough King for us to eat through the year and a bit to share with my customers too. We continue fishing for Coho through August, providing the majority of the Salmon we catch. Most people 'Hand Trolling' do it for their own subsistence, then sell their extra catch to bigger Fish Processing Facilities. I upgraded the boat in late 2022, selling 'New Moon' and replacing it with a slightly more purpose-built Fishing Machine, a 24' HewesCraft Pacific Cruiser, the 'F/V: Seward's Folly'.
As you can see by now, I clearly just can't help myself, so I took the next step and built my own Processing Facility and got all of the State & Federal Licenses and Inspections to be able to process my own catch commercially and sell directly to the public.
And that brings us to AKCO Fisheries! A One-Man (& Two-Women) Operation that is fully vertically integrated. We do it all: Own the boat, 'F/V: Seward's Folly', Catch the fish, Fillet & Process, Ship to Colorado, & Sell our wonderful bounty to YOU.
EatWild!
