California startup turns Bristol Bay salmon skins into a fried snack

A flash-fried snack made from Bristol Bay sockeye salmon skins has been spawned by a Los Angeles-based company called Goodfish, which aims to “propel sustainable seafood into our mass-market consumer culture.”

It is the second venture for partners Justin Guilbert and Douglas Riboud, a well-financed duo who are committed to trailblazing brands that have “higher standards of sourcing, manufacturing, and social ethos.”

A decade ago they co-founded Harmless Harvest, the world’s first sustainably harvested, organic coconut water. That product, now found in 70,000 U.S. outlets, helped economize non-timber forest products made from renewable resources.

That paved the way for Goodfish, a “first-to-market 100% traceable salmon skin crisp snack,” sourced from Bristol Bay. Errol Schweizer, a former Whole Foods Market global grocery coordinator, also has joined the company to assist in setting up the supply chain and operations.

“The idea was to look at sustainable, wild fisheries and figure out a way to create products that would get critical mass hits in the marketplace in order to protect that wild fishery, and by protecting the fishery you’re maintaining the social fabric that is supported by it,” Guilbert said in a phone interview.

No fishery fit their business philosophy of “healthy snacks with a conscience” better than Bristol Bay salmon.

“We were looking first and foremost for a fish species that had the highest positive collective attributes, where you would walk up to anyone and say, what’s the healthiest fish, the best fish, and salmon really fit the bill,” Guilbert said.

The Goodfish team spent a month at Bristol Bay before creating the salmon chips over three years in partnership with Trident Seafoods. They’re branded on the bag as a snack “that’s good for you, for the fish and the fisherman.”

And in this case, they wanted some skin in the game to create awareness of the threat to the Bristol Bay salmon fishery posed by the Pebble mine.

“A threat that is focused on short lived, essentially destructive practices, where most of the profit goes outside of the community,” Guilbert said. “The destruction of that ecosystem will affect an entire culture. That’s a message that we could make the American consumer aware of and understand that consumption can lead to direct impact.”

The Goodfish “brain, skin and body snack” come packaged in four flavors - Sea Salt, Chili Lime, Spicy BBQ, and Tart Cranberry. Guilbert said the chips are just the first of a full line Goodfish plans to develop.

“We did about 20 different variations of products - nuggets with pieces of fruits and nuts, we did cracklins', baked, all kinds of jerky, you name it,” Guilbert said. “We’ve got a bank of learning that we’re going to be capitalizing upon.”

Find Goodfish at Amazon or at www.goodfish.com/

Fish grilling - Two unconfirmed and controversial Alaska Board of Fisheries members will likely be voting on issues during the upcoming meetings that begin in October and run through mid-March.

The board oversees management of Alaska’s subsistence, commercial, sport and personal use fisheries and will be focusing this cycle on Prince William Sound, Southeast and statewide shellfish issues.

Appointments were made by Gov. Mike Dunleavy on April 1 and would normally go through a vigorous vetting process by the Alaska Legislature with public input. But COVID-19 sent lawmakers home early from the last session, leaving the confirmation process in limbo.

A public hearing on appointments of Abe Williams of Anchorage and McKenzie Mitchell of Fairbanks is set for Sept. 3 starting at 10am at the Legislative Information Office in Anchorage. John Jensen of Petersburg also is up for reappointment.

Williams is director of regional affairs for the Pebble mine and a longtime Bristol Bay fisherman. McKenzie Mitchell of California is a sportfish guide on Kodiak Island, a small-plane enthusiast and an adjunct professor of economics and recreation business leadership at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, according to her resume.

In a statement to the “Alaska Fisheries Committee,” Mitchell stated that she believes all of the state’s fisheries are “incredibly important” and that she is “incredibly passionate about Alaska, Alaska’s resources, and my Alaskan lifestyle and I would be honored to serve as a member of the Alaska Board of Fisheries and I understand the responsibility associated with helping to manage one of the best-managed fisheries in the world.”

The video hearing will be a long one, said state Rep. Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak), who called the hearing to be held jointly by the House Fisheries and Resource Committees.

“I have no end time, because I want to assure the public and fellow legislators that their constituents will have an opportunity to have their input and concerns heard,” Stutes said, adding that people can question the nominees directly.

“All of the comments will be on the record so that state representatives and senators have an opportunity to review their constituents’ comments prior to making their vote on confirming these people,” she added.

A concern among many constituents is that should the slate of Board of Fisheries appointees get the nod by state legislators, only one – Jensen - will represent a coastal community.

“Our fisheries occur along on coastline and for us not to have any representation out of Kodiak or Dillingham or Cordova or Dutch Harbor, it’s just unbelievable to me,” Stutes said.

Also unacceptable to Stutes is that board appointees can vote before they are confirmed.

“The Board of Fish is very serious board, They make significant decisions that affect a lot of people’s livelihoods. And to have these appointees have the ability to have a bona fide vote before they are confirmed by the Legislature is problematic,” she said.

So what happens after the Sept. 3 hearing?

If a special session is called prior to the start of the next legislative session in mid-January, the governor could add the board confirmations to the agenda.

“In order for the Legislature to call themselves back into a special session, you need 40 votes,” Stutes explained, adding, “I would be surprised if that happens, but it may” in order to deal with pandemic relief fund issues.

If confirmations do not occur, all names must be nominated again by the Dunleavy administration in the upcoming legislative session.

Regarding Williams, Stutes said she feels the same way about his appointment as she does about the Pebble mine.

“Wrong mine in the wrong place. Wrong person for the Board of Fish,” she said.

Despite advance notice of the board hearing being made on July 10, McKenzie Mitchell has put Stutes and United Fishermen of Alaska on notice that “she is very concerned that she may not be available,” because she will “be calling in via satellite phone from a remote hunting camp where I am working.”

As a voting member of the Board of Fisheries, Mitchell owes it to the many Alaskans she will be representing to make the short boat or plane trip into Kodiak where she can participate at Stute’s legislative office.

Stutes said she will provide video conference call-in information soon. Comments can be sent to housefisheries@akleg.gov.

One stop shop for pandemic help - One of the most frustrating things coming out of coronavirus pandemic for fishermen and coastal businesses is how to apply for the many relief fund options or finding a live person at the end of a phone line who can answer questions. Now, help is one click or call away for Alaskans who live in the Southwest region.

“It’s super easy. You go to one screen and everything that’s available comes up and it shows you what you’re eligible for, what you might be eligible for and what you’re not eligible for,” said Shirley Marquardt, executive director of the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference, which serves regional boroughs of the Aleutian/Pribilofs, Bristol Bay, Kodiak and the Lake and Peninsula regions.

SWAMC used relief funds to create a free, online portal called FORWARD that cuts through the red tape for finding loans, grants, tax deferrals and more.

“It takes the mystery out of how to get help. It shows you right there, boom – look at all these things that are available. Which ones fit you. Want to apply? Click apply!” she told KMXT in Kodiak, adding that there are several help options people are not even aware of.

What’s best about the FORWARD program is that a friendly voice will answer or return every phone call. That’s the job of SWAMC’s Keri Scaggs.

“I respond as quickly as I can because people are nervous. They’re scared. They’re wondering what the future is going to look like, and I think it makes a difference for them to hear a voice that seems to care,” she said.

Scaggs would normally travel to the various communities and meet directly with people, but COVID has canceled in-person gatherings and forced the process to be handled online.

It’s a problem that has drawn attention again to the frustrations brought by limited broadband access for many rural regions.

“This is a huge drawback for anything we do in this region,” Marquardt said. “We’ve been screaming for expanded broadband for a very long time, and it’s things like this that prove why we need it.”

That’s why Scaggs urges people to simply pick up the phone.

“They feel disconnected and cut off as it is,” she said. “When they get a live person on the phone and hear a voice that will listen to their story and listen to their fears, it does bring some comfort, even if I can’t always solve their problem.”

Reach Keri Scaggs at forward@swamc.org or 907-242-4077.