Late one night on the remote island of Unalaska, the site of Alaska’s tiny groundfish processing town Dutch Harbor, Korean-born Fishermen’s Finest founder and CEO Helena Park went from fisherman’s wheelhouse to fisherman’s wheelhouse, knocking on doors to gauge interest in a new business plan.
"My ultimate goal was to have a catcher processor," Park told Undercurrent News, referring to her desire to go in on a vessel purchase with a fishermen two years into her career in the Alaska groundfish industry. "But I didn't have the boat, so in the interim, I got to know these fishermen."
Park met a variety of characters that have gone down in Alaska groundfish fishing lore, including Kjell Inge Rokke, the founder of American Seafoods Group who recently made an investment to help boost the company's efforts to pay down debt. Rokke at one point fished for Vitus Venture.
“He was one of the fishermen running around at the right time and in the right place like me,” Park said, adding that it also took foresight and skill for Rokke to launch the immense fishing empire that he did. American today has the largest Alaska pollock quota of any player in the industry.
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