January 8, 2021 — A coalition of 30 communities, the Coastal Villages Region Fund and the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation has come together to buy the Seattle-based Mariner Companies.
Through the agreement, the Mariner Companies will sell crab quota valued at $35 million to the communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and Bristol Bay regions. The Coastal Villages Region Fund and the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp., both of which participate in Alaska’s community development quota program, provided support to the communities to purchase the quota, and will support the harvest through their fishing operations.
The Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. is a longstanding parter in the Mariner Companies. This deal will expand its ownership to 100 percent of four crab boats — the Aleutian Mariner, Bristol Mariner, Nordic Mariner and Pacific Mariner. Coastal Villages will purchase the Arctic Mariner, Cascade Mariner and Western Mariner.