Brian Hagenbuch

Contributing Editor reporting from Seattle, USA

Brian Hagenbuch spent a decade in South America, where he was a journalist for Reuters and Time Out in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. He now lives in Seattle and works as a freelance writer and translator, as well as a commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay. 

Published on
July 24, 2020

Major processors in Bristol Bay, Alaska, began posting base prices at USD 0.70 (EUR 0.60) per pound, just over half of last season’s price of USD 1.35 (EUR 1.16). Bristol Bay’s KDLG radio station reported that Peter Pan Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, Red Salmon/North Pacific Seafoods, and OBI Seafoods had all announced their price, with processing giant Silver Bay Seafoods yet to post.

Once one of the major processors in Bristol Bay

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Published on
July 21, 2020

A trawler owned by major pollock producer American Seafoods was operating from Unalaska to Seward, Alaska on Tuesday, 20 July, when it was found to have 85 COVID-positive crew members on board.

The 285-foot American Triumph was expected to arrive in Seward on Wednesday, 22 July, where the infected employees would be transported to Anchorage for isolation, care, and monitoring.

The company first detected six positive cases aboard the vessel last

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Published on
July 14, 2020

After a slow start to the season, Bristol Bay, Alaska – home to the world’s largest sockeye run –is seeing fish hit hard and fast, with a string of historically strong days spiking catch numbers and overloading processors. 

The run lagged several days behind schedule, with slow fishing across all four major districts into July dragging down statewide salmon numbers. The season has also had a rocky start as preparations for

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Published on
June 23, 2020

Fish have been slow to show up across Alaska’s early salmon fisheries, and cases of COVID-19 continue to creep up around the state ... 

Photo courtesy of Maxim

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Published on
June 18, 2020

Health officials in Alaska found no cases of COVID-19 aboard an American Seafoods trawler that recently arrived in Dutch Harbor to fish for Bering Sea pollock. The ship, the Ocean Rover, docked in the Unalaska port on Sunday, 14 June, where, according to a press release from the city, local health officials worked together with American Seafoods to screen and test crewmembers.

“In a coordinated effort between the IFHS Clinic, City of

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Published on
June 15, 2020

Alaska’s Copper River salmon fishery was prepared for a complicated season. Many worried about a supply chain and end-market crippled by coronavirus shutdowns, and the industry scrambled to protect the rural community of Cordova – home to Copper River’s fleet – from a COVID-19 outbreak.

Cordova has so far managed to keep the coronavirus at bay, but low prices and lower run numbers are threatening to

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Published on
June 5, 2020

American Seafoods registered another 25 cases of COVID-19 on two separate ships after the weekend announcement it recorded 86 cases on board the American Dynasty, according to health officials in Bellingham, Washington.

The company announced Wednesday, 3 June, it was taking the “precautionary measure” of  testing employees on the American Jaeger and the Northern Dynasty while the trawler vessels were docked in

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Published on
June 4, 2020

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy released a revised travel protocol on 3 June that gives travelers options to get around the 14-day quarantine period, but the state is experiencing a hike in COVID-19 cases as the summer fishing season ramps up.

Dunleavy and state health officials announced they are waiving the state’s 14-day quarantine period for travelers who test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of their flight. The quarantine can also

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Published on
June 1, 2020

Eighty-six workers for American Seafoods have tested positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak onboard the company’s American Dynasty trawler.

The company announced over the weekend that one crew member had tested positive for the virus, prompting testing of all 124 employees onboard the vessel. American Seafoods spokesperson Suzanne Lagoni told SeafoodSource that nine tests were still pending as of Monday morning.

Lagoni confirmed the ship

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Published on
May 29, 2020

A recent survey shows that Alaska fishermen are most concerned about the economic and health impacts of COVID-19 on the state’s fisheries, as well the destruction of habitat from projects like the proposed Pebble Mine ... 

Photo courtesy of

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