Alaskan Fish Factory

Gallery

The work on the Spit

Halibut off the boats, sockeye through the line, and product on its way to market — a look at a season on the Homer Spit.

  • Craning a brailer bag of halibut up off the boat Craning a brailer bag of halibut up off the boat
  • Offloading a fisherman's fresh catch of halibut Offloading a fisherman's fresh catch of halibut
  • The crane operator brings up bags of halibut The crane operator brings up bags of halibut
  • Positioning totes for the halibut offload Positioning totes for the halibut offload
  • Sizing and sorting the halibut Sizing and sorting the halibut
  • Belly-icing and toting up the day's fish Belly-icing and toting up the day's fish
  • De-racking frozen sockeye for the glaze tank De-racking frozen sockeye for the glaze tank
  • Loading frozen sockeye onto the trailer Loading frozen sockeye onto the trailer
  • Forklifting totes of frozen sockeye to the container Forklifting totes of frozen sockeye to the container
  • Loading the trailer — up to 40,000 lb net Loading the trailer — up to 40,000 lb net
  • Product headed to market — U.S. and Canada Product headed to market — U.S. and Canada
  • Pulling salmon roe from the flash freezer Pulling salmon roe from the flash freezer
  • A rack out of the flash freezer A rack out of the flash freezer
  • Stacking frozen salmon roe bound for Japan Stacking frozen salmon roe bound for Japan
  • Roe packed for the Japanese market Roe packed for the Japanese market
  • Nick: this tote's ready for the truck Nick: this tote's ready for the truck
  • Spit locals — gull chicks waiting on lunch Spit locals — gull chicks waiting on lunch
  • A mother gull keeps watch over her three A mother gull keeps watch over her three
  • The Homer Spit from the air — 4.5 miles into Kachemak Bay The Homer Spit from the air — 4.5 miles into Kachemak Bay
  • The small-boat harbor out at the end of the Spit The small-boat harbor out at the end of the Spit
  • Boats in the harbor, mountains across Kachemak Bay Boats in the harbor, mountains across Kachemak Bay
  • The Homer Spit harbor — an earlier era The Homer Spit harbor — an earlier era
  • Offloading at the Spit dock, years back Offloading at the Spit dock, years back
  • AFF totes stacked outside 'the fish factory' AFF totes stacked outside 'the fish factory'
  • The Fish Factory sign on the dock The Fish Factory sign on the dock
  • The 'Welcome to the SPIT' sign The 'Welcome to the SPIT' sign
  • Halibut coming off the boat Halibut coming off the boat
  • Hauling a brailer bag of sockeye off the tender Hauling a brailer bag of sockeye off the tender
  • The crew running sockeye The crew running sockeye
  • Forklifting insulated totes onto the truck Forklifting insulated totes onto the truck
  • Nick Heras in the plant office Nick Heras in the plant office
  • Bill Lancaster on the dock — the biggest flag in Homer behind him Bill Lancaster on the dock — the biggest flag in Homer behind him
  • Jeff Choinski on the dock crane Jeff Choinski on the dock crane
  • Shoveling ice out of the tender hold to get to the fish Shoveling ice out of the tender hold to get to the fish
  • Digging through the ice for the last of the sockeye Digging through the ice for the last of the sockeye
  • Loading sockeye into brailer bags on the tender Loading sockeye into brailer bags on the tender
  • Brailer bags of sockeye, ready to swing to the dock Brailer bags of sockeye, ready to swing to the dock
  • Unloading sockeye off the tender into brailer bags Unloading sockeye off the tender into brailer bags
  • A brailer bag comes off the dock into an AFF tote A brailer bag comes off the dock into an AFF tote
  • The skipper checks the work — thumbs up The skipper checks the work — thumbs up
  • Feeding sockeye into the deheading machine Feeding sockeye into the deheading machine
  • Spooning the fresh sockeye on the line Spooning the fresh sockeye on the line
  • Keeping it clean on the line — quality first Keeping it clean on the line — quality first
  • Placing sockeye on the line Placing sockeye on the line
  • Checking the belly cavity on the line Checking the belly cavity on the line
  • Breaking the sockeye apart before glazing Breaking the sockeye apart before glazing
  • Getting ready to glaze and case up the sockeye Getting ready to glaze and case up the sockeye
  • Glazing the frozen sockeye before casing up Glazing the frozen sockeye before casing up
  • De-racking frozen sockeye for the glaze tank De-racking frozen sockeye for the glaze tank
  • Racking fresh sockeye for the blast freezer Racking fresh sockeye for the blast freezer
  • Placing fresh sockeye on the rack for the flash freezer Placing fresh sockeye on the rack for the flash freezer
  • Casing up the frozen sockeye for cold storage Casing up the frozen sockeye for cold storage
  • Toting up sockeye before it ships to cold storage Toting up sockeye before it ships to cold storage
  • Toting fresh sockeye to the truck, bound for Vancouver Toting fresh sockeye to the truck, bound for Vancouver
  • Size grading fresh seafood before the blast freeze Size grading fresh seafood before the blast freeze
  • A quick smile before glazing the sockeye A quick smile before glazing the sockeye
  • Sea otters floating in the harbor Sea otters floating in the harbor
  • Bill, proud of his garden Bill, proud of his garden