“Buyers include Gorton’s with the fish ending up in your McDonalds fish sandwich. The fish are processed on board and eventually packaged into 15-pound boxes, cased, and shipped out. In the factory the fish get headed, gutted and filleted,” Torstein explains. It all depends on the size of course, but if the size of the fish is 6 or 7 grams, there’ll be about 150,000 fish in a haul. Torstein is originally from just outside of Ålesund. “On a good day the boat does 140 tons of finished product, which is pretty incredible, really,” said Torstein Nordal, Factory Manager. The Starbound is a pollock catcher/processor, it is very efficient with 95 percent of its catch being pollock and cod. He’s a friendly guy, clearly knowledgeable and serious about the business of the boat, hard working for sure, but he’s warm and a real character. Perhaps Captain Karl is part of why many of the crewmembers stay on so long. His father’s parents emigrated from Norway and his mother’s parents emigrated from Sweden. Karl has been with Aleutian Spray Fisheries since 1981. We hire new people of course, from time to time, but the crew, when they get on this boat, they like to stay on it,” Heidi says.Ĭaptain Karl Bratvold is a case in point. “It’s actually really nice because we’ve had people here 10,15, and 20 years, and we are now seeing children of these loyal workers applying for jobs. Family members wave from the docks to their loved ones (mostly men), who won’t be returning until near Easter. The Swasand family celebrates 40 years of success this year, and along with their partners, Barry Ohai, APICDA, and Karl Bratvold, celebrate 20 years with the Starbound.īack on the Starbound the crew is preparing to leave. Heidi, (JoAnne’s daughter) who is giving me the tour today, is in charge of government compliance, permits and helps with vessel operations. Cary’s daughter Lisa, who has worked in the office for over 20 years, assists Svanee and Cary in all aspects of the family business. Today Cary is the president and Svanee is vice-president, Cary’s son Chris, after many years of running the vessels is helping his dad mange the company in Seattle. In the 1970s his children Cary, Svanee, and JoAnne, also got involved. Swasand founded Aleutian Spray Fisheries in 1969 with the acquisition of the crab vessel Aleutian Spray. Henry Swasand, who immigrated from Norway in 1957, loved the design aspect of the project, the building of the Starbound was the culmination of a long journey that began in Norway. The vessel was designed by Guido Perla and built at Dakota Creek Shipyard in Anacortes, Washington. This year marks the 20th anniversary for the Starbound, a pristine 240-foot at-sea catcher/processor, managed by Aleutian Spray Fisheries of Seattle, Wash. On a dry, gray January morning, the Starbound leaves town for the season, carrying 117 crewmembers up to Dutch Harbor, Alaska for three months of fishing. Carefully processed and quickly frozen or stored in refrigerated seawater, Aleutian Spray Fisheries products are enjoyed by consumers around the world. Photo: Heidi Eriksen The fishing fleet includes the at-sea processor Starbound.
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