GAPP MONTHLY MEMBER UPDATE: PREPARING FOR ALASKA POLLOCK A SEASON

GAPP monthly member update. Letter from Craig Morris, CEO of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP).

As we begin a new year, January has already been a busy and meaningful month for the team at GAPP and for our industry as a whole as we prepare for the start of the 2026 Alaska Pollock fishing season.

On the GAPP front, our team has been hard at work capturing new, first-person content from our captains and crews before they depart for A Season. These authentic, first-hand accounts are invaluable in helping us tell the story of our fishery—both in Alaska and to customers around the world. There is simply no substitute for the credibility and power of hearing directly from the men and women who fish Alaska Pollock.

This month also gave me the opportunity to attend my first Blessing of the Fleet in Newport, Oregon, honouring the captains, crews, and families preparing for the journey north. It was a deeply moving experience—one that inspired me to share my reflections in a blog post and to explore how we might extend that moment of connection more broadly.

As a result, I reached out to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to see if she would be interested in participating in a virtual Blessing of the Fleet for the crews heading to Alaska and the families remaining at home. I was incredibly grateful when Secretary Rollins said yes. On January 19, the day before the season began, she joined GAPP Chairman Jim Johnson, Captain Kurt Cochran, and GAPP Director and Captain Justin Johnson in offering a prayer for a safe and bountiful fishing season. It was a truly special moment—and one we hope to build upon in the future.

Behind the Scenes: Preparing for Alaska Pollock A Season. Sam Murphy, APFA Director of Communications.

The turn of the calendar usually signals fresh starts, new goals, and a hopeful look toward what’s ahead.

In the Alaska Pollock industry, it means that, but also something else entirely.

January is when the fleet begins to stir. Gear is inspected. Systems are tested. Crews return. Plans are sharpened. And slowly, but deliberately, the pollock fleet begins preparations for the nearly week-long run north – through the wintery Gulf of Alaska, into the Bering Sea, and into one of the most abundant fisheries in the world.

The start of A Season isn’t just a date on the calendar. It’s the moment when preparation meets reality. When crews who have spent weeks getting ready step away from their families, their routines, and dry land, and commit themselves to months at sea. And while most people will only ever see the final product – a Filet-O-Fish sandwich, imitation crab in your California Roll, or a package of fish sticks at your local grocer – very few ever see what it takes to get there and the people who ensure it does.

That’s what we’re trying to change.

Over the past couple weeks, the Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance (APFA) has been given behind-the-scenes access across the Seattle fleet. We’ve been walking docks, stepping aboard vessels, sitting in wheelhouses, and talking with the people who make this fishery run – from deckhands and pursers to the skipper’s manning these vessels and who are all preparing for what’s ahead.

What we’re capturing isn’t scripted. It’s the real work of getting ready: loading supplies, checking equipment, running drills, and saying quiet goodbyes before a long journey north. It’s the nervous energy before departure. The pride of crews that know the gravity of their job. The weight of responsibility that comes with harvesting a resource that feeds so many people around the world.

Over the coming weeks and months, you’ll see some those moments brought to life through photos, videos, and stories from across the fleet. You’ll hear directly from the people who work these boats – why they do this, what it means to them, and what it’s like to head toward Dutch Harbor knowing they’ll be away from home for months.

Our goal is simple: to bring our people into the picture. Humanize a fishery that is often demonised without context.

The Alaska Pollock fishery is often talked about in terms of numbers, quotas, or headlines. But at its heart, it’s a community of individuals from all walks of life who are true professionals and take immense pride in doing things the right way – safely, responsibly, and with respect for the ocean that sustains them.

Whether we’re capturing a back-load on the Excellence, crew up on the Golden Alaska, or stepping aboard the crown jewel of the fleet – the Arctic Fjord – we’re bringing you into the working world of the fleet that sets the global ‘gold standard’ for commercial fisheries.

As these vessels soon turn their bows north, they’ll carry more than nets and gear. They’ll carry the hopes of families back home, the trust of consumers across the country, and the shared commitment of an industry that knows what’s at stake.

We’re proud to tell their story – before the first tow, before the first haul, and before the season truly begins.

Image: GAPP

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