February 3, 2022 — Two Alaska Community Development Quota groups partnered with Japanese-owned Maruha Nichiro in the purchase of inshore pollock quota, vessels and processing capacity from Evening Star Fisheries and Cooke-owned Icicle Seafoods.
On Feb. 1, Alaska’s Norton Sound Economic Development Corp. and Coastal Villages Region Fund announced an expansion of their partnership with Maruha Nichiro to catch and process Bering Sea pollock quota.
The Coastal Villages Region Fund and Norton Sound Economic Development Corp. investment accounts for 75 percent ownership of the fishing assets, while Maruha Capital Investment is a 25 percent stakeholder (a limitation on foreign ownership of fishing vessels or companies that own fishing vessels, stipulated by the American Fisheries Act). That purchase includes nine fishing vessels from Evening Star Fisheries and four percent of Bering Sea pollock quota. The fleet, which includes the recently rebuilt F/V Progress, can operate in both the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.