Before departing Sitka on a recent cruise stop, The Serenade of the Seas took more than passengers aboard — it took 2,000 pounds of fresh Sitka seafood.
It’s the latest development in a collaborative effort that started decades ago among seafood processors, cruise lines and their chefs, and the industry organization Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska.
“We’ve had fish come off the (fishing) boats, into the processing room and onto the cruise ships within one and a half hours,” said Fred Reeder, Sitka port director for Cruise Line Agencies. “The ships are excited about the high quality.”
He said the ships used to purchase seafood from local processors, but the pandemic shut down that market in 2020 and halfway through 2021.
The ships started coming again last year, and to help restart the supply chain Reeder sent the cruise lines an email that generally asked, “If you need fish, we can provide that — fresh and frozen — in Sitka.”
Reeder and processors said the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal built in 2020 presented the lines the opportunity to buy more fresh seafood, since they can load quickly at the cruise dock during their port calls.
This season, local processors will sell over 20 tons, about $400,000 worth of seafood to the cruise ships, said Reeder and processors.
Seafood Producers Cooperative said it’s worked out well for the 380-member co-op, which is one of the Sitka processors selling directly to the cruise companies.
Seafood Processors president Norm Pillen said seafood sales at the dock “has been good for both the cruise ships and SPC. We’re happy to have an opportunity to get our products out in front of people we normally wouldn’t.” He said the cruise lines are ordering 1,000 to 2,000 pounds per order in halibut, king and coho salmon, lingcod, rockfish and blackcod.
The business model makes sense in several ways, he said, since it saves the cost of shipping, which benefits both seller and buyer.
“We’re saving costs on both ends,” Pillen said.
And besides that, he added, the product will arrive at its best, as close as possible to the processing facility.
The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has been partnering with the cruise industry this summer to create educational opportunities for cruise passengers. Ashley Heimbigner, ASMI communications director, said the effort is to “build a better connection for visitors between the Alaska seafood they enjoy on board the ship and world-class fisheries, fishing communities and fishermen here in Southeast Alaska.”
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