Naknek processor's fillets reach global market

July 20, 2010

Leader Creek Fisheries' operations manager, Norman Van Vactor, says the Naknek-based fish processor is one of the largest producers of value-added product in Alaska. (Joshua Borough/KTUU-DT)

by Lori Tipton
Monday, July 19, 2010

NAKNEK, Alaska -- One of Naknek's biggest fish processors is also one of its newest. Leader Creek Fisheries began with just a few fishermen when its processing plant opened in the summer of 2000, but it has grown to more than 400 seasonal employees and its products are making their way across the globe.

Bristol Bay is home to the world's largest sockeye salmon population. Fishermen haul in sockeye salmon and send them straight to processing plants like Leader Creek's.

"We have a very sophisticated pumping system that then moves the fish off the tender to the plant behind us," said Leader Creek's operations manager, Norman Van Vactor.

Compared to other processors in Naknek, Leader Creek is somewhat new to the market.

"It started with literally just a handful of fishermen producing basic (headed and gutted) product, and it's evolved into one of the largest producers of value-added product in Alaska," Van Vactor said.

Van Vactor has worked for Leader Creek for two years, but he's been in the processing business for 30 years. He says during that time, a lot has changed in Bristol Bay.

"When I first came into the industry, it was virtually 95 percent canned -- all the product that was being caught was canned," he said.

Leader Creek's specialty is top-quality fillets. The plant is capable of processing 700,000 to 800,000 pounds of salmon a day. Workers inspect each and every fish that comes through, checking for flaws and sorting out only the best of the bunch.

"This is it for us, so this is where we put our emphasis -- this is where we put our money and where we put our hopes," Van Vactor said.

The company creates about 435 seasonal jobs, the majority of them stretching from June through August. Many of the employees are college students looking for temporary work that pays well.

Since quality is the No. 1 goal, workers must be delicate while handling the sockeyes. Only about 2 percent of Leader Creek's product is canned. That work is done by another processing company in Naknek.

"We can't do things in a fashion as business-as-usual, because we don't have the option of going to a cannery with low-grade product," Van Vactor said.

The end products are bright, bruise-free fillets, some of which are vacuum-packed while the rest are frozen. The Naknek processor's output will be sold across both the U.S. and European markets.

"We really believe in this resource and its future," Van Vactor said.

Leader Creek also processes herring, employing 150 workers during the herring season from late April through mid-May.

Contact Lori Tipton at ltipton@ktuu.com

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