Our Members
Building a better understanding of our industry starts with telling our story.
Commercial fishing is a grueling and sometimes dangerous job. Fishermen must undergo rigorous safety training and be able to do difficult work in often times inclement weather. The MTC vessels that fish in Alaska make a 1600-mile open ocean trip just to get to the fishing grounds off Kodiak and Dutch Harbor. Rough seas and ever-changing complex regulations complicate the work.
In the commercial fishing industry, not all vessels are alike. That’s true of the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative membership, too. For instance, some of our members fish only in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. Some members fish only on the Pacific coast, and others can be found both off the coast of Oregon and Washington, as well as the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. These vessels make up part of Oregon’s Distant Water Fleet. There’s variety in what they catch and also variety in how they catch it.
All this variety means MTC must stay up-to-speed on a whole host of regulatory and fisheries -related issues. As a trade association, MTC serves as the collective voice of its members. This is a current list of our members and the owners of each vessel.
Member Vessel | Owner | Area Fished |
---|---|---|
Bay Islander | Kurt Cochran & Keith Cochran | Alaska & West Coast |
Collier Brothers | Mike Schones | Alaska & West Coast |
Excalibur | Mike Retherford | West Coast |
Excalibur II | Kent Leslie & Bill Jacobson | Alaska |
Gold Rush | Don Ashley & Bert Ashley | Alaska |
Golden Pisces | Dennis McMannus | Alaska |
Grumpy J | Pacific Seafoods | West Coast |
Hickory Wind | Bering North LLC | Alaska & West Coast |
Jamie Marie | Ocean Gold Seafoods | West Coast |
Leslie Lee | Mark Cooper | Alaska & West Coast |
Lisa Melinda | Ocean Gold Seafoods | Alaska & West Coast |
Majesty | Trident Seafoods | Alaska |
Marathon | Kurt Cochran | Alaska & West Coast |
Michelle Renee | Stoian Iankov | Alaska |
Miss Berdie | Stan Schones & Tom Stam | Alaska & West Coast |
Miss Sarah | Todd Whaley | Alaska & West Coast |
Miss Sue | Jim Seavers | West Coast |
Muir Milach | Trident Seafoods | Alaska & West Coast |
New Life | Kurt Cochran | Alaska |
Nordic Star | Aleutian Spray Industries | Alaska & West Coast |
Northern Ram | Trident Seafoods | Alaska & West Coast |
Pacific | Mark Cooper | West Coast |
Pacific Future | Pacific Seafoods | West Coast |
Pacific Ram | Trident Seafoods | Alaska & West Coast |
Pegasus | Justin Johnson | Alaska & West Coast |
Predator | Mark Cooper & Chris Cooper | Alaska & West Coast |
Raven | Robert Smith & Lyle Yeck | Alaska & West Coast |
Sea Clipper | Ocean Gold Seafoods | West Coast |
Sea Storm | Arctic Storm Management Group | Alaska & West Coast |
Seadawn | Fred Yeck | Alaska & West Coast |
Seeker | Jim Seavers | Alaska & West Coast |
Sunset Bay | Bering North LLC | Alaska |
Winona J | Mike Retherford | West Coast |
Our members play a significant role in the local economy of their home ports. It is not unusual for one of these vessels to generate more than $1 million in annual payroll, not to mention the millions spent on repairs, overhauls, and outfitting with regional vendors and boatyards.
The majority of MTC vessels belong to multi-generational fishing families – meaning they come from fishing families and their children are working hard to take over the businesses. MTC vessels range in length from 80 to 120 feet. Combined, our member boats support approximately 500 families per year directly and thousands more through the processing plants to whom they deliver their catch, not to mention the services and goods that must be purchased to support vessel operations.