By: Austin Estabrooks, At-Sea Processors Association (APA)
October 2026
It’s part of a fisherman’s ethos to put their head down, work hard, and not seek out accolades or kudos. The same is often true for the fishing industry as a whole. For decades, leading companies in the Alaska pollock sector have been making substantial contributions to fishery science, without looking for any kind of spotlight or credit. This fall, some well-deserved recognition came their way.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks recently nominated the At-sea Processors Association as the Association of Fundraising Professionals Alaska Chapter outstanding corporation in philanthropy for 2026. The nomination was based on our longstanding partnership through the Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center. The PCCRC was established in 2000, as both an endowed professorship honoring the late Senator Ted Stevens and an annual marine science research fund. Its mission is to improve knowledge about the marine environment in Alaska through research and education. I was honored to accept the award on behalf of APA and our members.
I’m proud that APA’s member companies invest in research that can inform sustainable management. Each year since I joined APA in 2014, our members – American Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, Glacier Fish Co., Arctic Storm Management Group, and Coastal Villages Region Fund – have consistently donated $1.2 million annually to academic institutions across Alaska. PCCRC has been one of the most important recipients of those investments, receiving a combined total of $17.7 million in donations. This has directly facilitated over $11 million in applied research, supporting a total of 72 graduate students. Scientific advances enabled by this research have directly supported improvements in fishery performance.
When I was asked by Landsick Media to help produce a video for the awards luncheon, I nervously obliged. What I didn’t realize was how easy it would be to talk about things that inspire the giving part of the human condition. I'm so proud to highlight these activities, and to work for an organization representing companies that have given back so much to the state of Alaska.
PCCRC is a large part of that story. But so is the financial support that flows annually to Alaska Pacific University and Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center in Nome to support research, vocational education and training. More broadly, APA companies seek to serve food insecure Alaskans in partnership with great organizations such as Beans Café in Anchorage and SeaShare. Our SeaShare partnership includes a “million meals pledge”, which donates both pollock and incidentally caught salmon to food banks for distribution to those in need. We are also proud to donate the pollock that fed to seals and sea lions at the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward.
Day-to-day, my work to support these initiatives is just part of my job. But AFP’s recognition provides a nice opportunity to reflect. The philanthropic engagement of APA companies is something I’m proud to be associated with. I’m confident that it will make a longstanding impact into a brighter future.