Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based Trident Seafoods is selling its False Pass seafood-processing plant to Silver Bay Seafoods.
The deal is the second between the two companies in recent months, after Trident offloaded its Ketchikan plant to Sitka, Alaska, U.S.A. Silver Bay in March 2024.
“We are pleased to close the transaction and bring security to the peninsula salmon fleet in time for the 2024 season,” Trident Seafoods CEO Joe Bundrant said in a press release. “I’m confident that Silver Bay will take great care of the fishermen and communities who depend on the False Pass plant and support services, and we wish them every success.”
Trident is in the midst of a corporate reorganization process that includes a divestment from six of its facilities in Alaska. Also in March, it sold its Petersburg plant to E.C. Phillips & Son, a seafood company based in Ketchikan, Alaska, and it recently announced it is negotiating the sale of its Kodiak plant to an unnamed prospective buyer. It is also hoping to sell its South Naknek Diamond NN cannery facility and its support facilities in Chignik.
Located on Unimak Island, in a remote area of southwest Alaska between the tip of the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands, the False Pass operation is dedicated entirely to processing salmon. The facility is located next to Silver Bay’s False Pass processing facility, which opened in 2019, and the deal also includes the facility’s fueling operations.
“We are deeply committed to Alaska’s communities and the seafood sector, and salmon will always be part of who we are,” Bundrant said. “The strategic restructuring decisions have been some of the most difficult of my career. However, focusing our operations is essential so we can continue investing in and modernizing our footprint across Alaska to drive value back into these fisheries.”
Bundrant previously denied rumors Trident was planning a complete exit from Alaska’s salmon sector.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. Salmon is part of Trident’s core, and we are being very deliberate about how we reshape the business to focus our efforts and build markets that will serve fishermen, communities, and processors alike.”
Amid a down period for Alaska’s seafood-processing sector, Silver Bay Seafoods has expanded aggressively. Besides its purchases of Trident’s two plants, it struck an agreement to take over the Alaska operations of Peter Pan Seafoods, which was placed into receivership in April 2024.
“The acquisition of the False Pass operations will create efficiencies between the two neighboring processing plants and includes a fuel facility that provides critical fuel services to the community and fishing fleet,” Silver Bay President and CEO Cora Campbell said. “This acquisition will allow us to provide better services and more opportunity to our fishermen.”
Trident and Silver Bay “structured the transaction with valuable input from the local community organizations,” the two companies said in their joint release.
“The parties expressed a mutual commitment to a smooth transition in time for the 2024 salmon season,” they said. “This was to ensure a smooth transition for all stakeholders, reflecting our shared commitment to the fishing community.”
Negotiations on a bigger deal between the two parties have become contentious recently, however.
