King Crab Brings New Life To Village
Wakefields Specialize In Frozen Crab
King Crabs have given a new
lease on life to a village built by
herring. The site of one of Kodi
ak’s active king crab processing
plants, Port Wakefield is also head
quarters for all Wakefield Fisher
ies’ crab operations, the most ex
tensive in Alaska.
Several new homes and apart
ments, a new water system, in ad
dition to plant and office facili
ties, have been built in recent
months or are under constfuction
as the village strives to meet it’s
new role in Kodiak and Alaska
economy.
iNearly one hundred persons cur
rently reside at Port Wakefield,
including production workers in
the crab plant, and some of the
men engaged in new construction
work. Many of these come from
the city of Kodiak, and from the
villages of Afognak, Larsen Bay,
and from other villages as far out
as Akutan. Some spend only the
crab season here, others are here
year around, as are the families.
Heading the company as presi
dent is Lowell Wakefield, who with
his wife and two children, reside
at the site. Ralph Jones, vice-presi
dent in charge of production, and
general superintendent of all the
Wakefield fishing and packing
operations, also resides with his
family at the site.
A vice-president of the company,
Howard Wakefield is superinten
dent of the Port Wakefield plant.
He and Mrs. Wakefield also live
at Port Wakefield.
Families include Frank Mackay
and his wife, the Harry Nielsons.
^he Hiram McAllisters; the A. T.
Hansens. He is general superin
tendent; Mr. and Mrs. Mel Vegas.
Vegas is former professor of fish
eries; and Ken Thorson, marine
biologist, formerly with the Alaska
Dept, of Fish and Game. The lat
ter two are in charge of quality
control and product development
for Wakefield Fisheries. They have
a fully equipped bacteriological
aboratory at Port Wakefield, and
another at Wakefield’s Sand Point
plant; presently employed is John
Gibbons of Kodiak, who has been
in charge of several of the villages
projects; and Vinny Root, also of
Kodiak, contractor for all of the
Plumbing and heating installations.
In addition to the headquarters
office and crab plant ait Port Wake
field, the company has other crab
processing plants at Sand Point
and at Seldovia.
The company also has two float
ing processing plants, the Deep
Sea, under Captain Ben Gjerde,
and the Reefer King, under Cap
tain Odd Ronstad. One or both of
these usually operates in the Kodi
ak district.
Over a hundred Alaska-owned
and Alaska-manned fishing boats
deliver king crabs to the Wake
field plants during the season. All
of the plant superintendents and
other management personnel at
Port Wakefield, Sand Point and
Seldovia are Alaska residents, as
are most of the production employ
ees.
Port Wakefield was established
in 1935 as a herring saltry and
reduction plant. It operated con
tinuously in the herring fishery
until shortly after world war II,
when a combination of circum
stances forced clsure of most
of the Kodiak herring plants, none
of which opeated this year. A scar
city of fish, high costs and a de
pressed market due to the growth
of foreign competition combined to
close down this valuable fishery.
In 1940 and 1941, experiments
were conducted at Port Wakefield
on the processing of King crab.
The Fish and Wildlife Service had
been conducting a survey of this
resource, which up until that time
had been exploited on a large
scale only by Japanese floating
canneries in Bristol Bay. The gov
ernment survey indicated that the
principal concentration of Alaska
king crabs was in the Bristol Bay
area. Also, the Port Wakefield ex
periments developed the fact that
the king crabs could be successful
ly frozen without deterioration
of quality, unlike other crabs and
lobster.
Lowell Wakefield decided that
the king crab resources held great
promise, and in 1947 launched the
first large scale American commer
cial king crab operation with the
departure of the specially-built
trawler-freezer ship Deep Sea for
Bristol Bay.
As king crab became better
known, and marketts expanded,
other boats entering the fishery
discovered that there was a greater
supply of king crabs in the waters
around Kodiak Island, in Cook
Inlet, and the Shumagins than had
earlier been thought. Several king
crab operations developed in the
Kodiak area and in Homer and
Seldovia. Wakefield Fisheries put
a small king crab plant in at Port
Wakefield and started the opera
tion at Sand Point.
Wakefield production is limited
to king crab, and the entire pack
is frozen, either as crab meat or
in the shell. A total of thirteen
styles and sizes of packages are
produced for both the retail and
institutional trade, and these pack
ages, all under the Wakefield
r '''' iiirriiiiii i iiiiriiiiiiiwiiiiiiiii
brand, are distributed throughout
the entire 50 states.
PORT WAKEFIELD. Central
building is headquarters office
for all five Wakefield Fisheries
crab operations. Crab and salmon
fishing boat Parks 11 in the
foreground.
MEMO TO: THE PEOPLE OF KODIAK FROM: WAKEFIELD FISHERIES
THIS IS HOW WE ARE TELLING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES ABOUT THE GIANT ALASKA KING CRAB.
ADS LIKE THESE SHOWN HERE. PUBLISHED IN NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES, ACQUAINT HOUSEWIVES WITH KING CRAP,
AND CREATE AN INCREASED DEMAND FOR THIS FAMOUS ALASKAN PRODUCT.
ALASKA’S CONTRIBUTION TO 1
THE WORLD’S GREAT FOODS...
GIANT KING CRAB
I
Serve it sea-fresh
on vour own table, tonight!
Wakefield Fisheries, of
Port Wakefield, Alaska,
sends its fleet of ships to
bring up the 10-20 lb.
King Crabs, prepare and
quick-freeze their succu
lent meat. Shellfish lovers
the world over agree, the
sweet delicious flavor of
Wakefield’s King Crab is
unsurpassed by any other
sea food. Look for Wake
field’s King Crab - an
Alaska product now avail
able in your dealer’s
frozen food cabinet.
fi s
good and easy * •
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role or«, Combine in casse- •
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Ki”* Crab
WAKEFI_|_D’S
king crab meat