Behind the Scenes: Preparing for Alaska Pollock A Season

Sam Murphy, APFA Director of Communications

January 15, 2026

The turn of the calendar usually signals fresh starts, new goals, and a hopeful look toward what’s ahead.

In the Alaska Pollock industry, it means that, but also something else entirely.

January is when the fleet begins to stir. Gear is inspected. Systems are tested. Crews return. Plans are sharpened. And slowly, but deliberately, the pollock fleet begins preparations for the nearly week-long run north - through the wintery Gulf of Alaska, into the Bering Sea, and into one of the most abundant fisheries in the world.

The start of A Season isn’t just a date on the calendar. It’s the moment when preparation meets reality. When crews who have spent weeks getting ready step away from their families, their routines, and dry land, and commit themselves to months at sea. And while most people will only ever see the final product - a Filet-O-Fish sandwich, imitation crab in your California Roll, or a package of fish sticks at your local grocer - very few ever see what it takes to get there and the people who ensure it does.

That’s what we’re trying to change.

Over the past couple weeks, the Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance (APFA) has been given behind-the-scenes access across the Seattle fleet. We’ve been walking docks, stepping aboard vessels, sitting in wheelhouses, and talking with the people who make this fishery run - from deckhands and pursers to the skipper’s manning these vessels and who are all preparing for what’s ahead.

What we’re capturing isn’t scripted. It’s the real work of getting ready: loading supplies, checking equipment, running drills, and saying quiet goodbyes before a long journey north. It’s the nervous energy before departure. The pride of crews that know the gravity of their job. The weight of responsibility that comes with harvesting a resource that feeds so many people around the world.

Over the coming weeks and months, you’ll see some those moments brought to life through photos, videos, and stories from across the fleet. You’ll hear directly from the people who work these boats - why they do this, what it means to them, and what it’s like to head toward Dutch Harbor knowing they’ll be away from home for months.

Our goal is simple: to bring our people into the picture. Humanize a fishery that is often demonized without context.

The Alaska Pollock fishery is often talked about in terms of numbers, quotas, or headlines. But at its heart, it’s a community of individuals from all walks of life who are true professionals and take immense pride in doing things the right way - safely, responsibly, and with respect for the ocean that sustains them.

Whether we’re capturing a back-load on the Excellence, crew up on the Golden Alaska, or stepping aboard the crown jewel of the fleet - the Arctic Fjord - we’re bringing you into the working world of the fleet that sets the global ‘gold standard’ for commercial fisheries.

As these vessels soon turn their bows north, they’ll carry more than nets and gear. They’ll carry the hopes of families back home, the trust of consumers across the country, and the shared commitment of an industry that knows what’s at stake.

We’re proud to tell their story - before the first tow, before the first haul, and before the season truly begins.

Here are some of the smiles and sights from our week at the dock: