Deliver the best. Market the best. Be the best. Just over 30 years ago, that slogan defined the Copper River Fishermen’s Cooperative (CRFC), an innovative response by a group of about 30 Cordova gillnetters to the unstable markets and low prices of that time period.
Committed to quality and market expansion, they were effective in educating with reminders like Broken Backbones Cost You Money! and became one of Alaska’s most successful fishermen’s cooperatives.
In recognition of their innovations in branding, international marketing and quality control, the Prince William Sound Science Center is giving the 2012 Fisheries Achievement Award to the Copper River Fishermen’s Cooperative.
The community is invited to honor CRFC and its founders at a reception on Saturday June 9 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on the Science Center’s dock, which was actually home to the Co-op’s first icehouse.
Established in 1981, CRFC grew out of a very different time period in the fishing industry. Back then, there were just a few Copper River fishermen working with Seattle marketers to sell their Copper River salmon at premium prices.
The Alaska fish industry was dominated by Japanese salmon markets. Farm fish was on the horizon and would soon impact world markets but there were few fresh markets, especially for coho. These factors were significant in the formation of CRFC; the cooperative’s response to these challenges helped change both the quality and marketing of Alaska salmon forever.
CRFC fishermen had the first fish hold inspection program in Alaska. This was at a time when plywood was the dominant fish hold lining and ice was what you used to keep your beer cold. Co-op fishermen were the first required to bleed and ice their fish, and temperatures were routinely taken at delivery to assure quality.
The Co-op’s plant instituted grading standards that were strict and uniform. Every fish shipped was identified Caught and Produced by the Copper River Fishermen’s Cooperative.
The Co-op developed strong markets in France for silvers, creating demand that helped maintain late season prices. As one Co-op member reflects, the original buy-in paid huge dividends then as well as now. Times were different; having a cooperative opening up markets and extending the seasons was so much better than sitting on the beach for lack of markets and buyers.”
It took years of work to grow its membership but by the late 1980’s, CRFC included more than 20 percent of the Copper River fleet. By 1985, they had purchased the facility now known as the Trident South plant and they’d expanded their processing to include black cod, halibut and herring roe-on-kelp. At its height, Co-op membership consisted of over 150 permit holdersnearly twenty-five percent of the fleet. Collectively, their efforts earned international recognition for Copper River fish.
In reading through issues of their newsletter, called the CRFC Fishwrapper, many names of fishermen still active in today’s fleet pop up: Sylvia Lange Meyers, Andrew Smallwood, James Mykland, Dan Bilderback, R.J. Kopchak, John Platt, Paul Swartzbart Bill Lindow, Bill Bailey, Sue Laird and Jeff Bailey, among others.
One lighter note legacy attributable to CRFC is the fall Fish Prom. CRFC started it in the late 1980’s to celebrate the end of the season and hand out their famous Sammy awards. While humorous, not many sought to receive a Sammy award as they were usually acknowledgements of errors!
The Co-op was bankrupted in 1990 by impacts from the oil spill but their legacy lives on and will be recognized on June 9th by designating the 2012 Fisheries Achievement Award in CRFC’s honor. This year’s award was determined by a committee of several past awardees and other local fisheries experts, including Torie Baker, Bill Gilbert, RJ Kopchak and Steve Moffitt. All are welcome to join the celebration.
The Cordova Times, 2012