Alaska Idaho
Fairweather Fish Co.
Caleb and Jessica Robbins
Dumb kids in love, the two of us began fishing together as teenagers. We leased a small, commercial power troller, and spent a handful of years chasing chum salmon runs around Southeast Alaska before we were able to scrape enough pennies together to finance our first boat, F/V Alsek. Aboard the Alsek, we sold our fish fresh, on ice. But after testing our own product post-shipping, we weren't crazy about the flavor. So, we did some research (read: eating a lot of different fisher-friend's fish!) and we decided freezing at sea was our best storategy to bring the freshest taste of Alaska back home to Idaho!
Fast forward to today: We've upgraded to our "forever boat" F/V Fairweather, have a baby on board (literally) and are living our dream of catching, freezing and selling wild Alaska seafood together as a family.
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We're currently taking pre-orders of this summer's catch: frozen in individual portions, available in 10, 25, 50, and 100 lb shares, ready for pickup November 2023. And as always: sustainably caught + handled with love.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being here.
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What makes our fish special?
Our supply chain couldn't get any simpler: 6 months per year, we live on our boat, catching wild seafood.Whenever the boat's full (generally, every two weeks or so), we offload our fish one by one into a refrigerated shipping container, where it's barged from Sitka, Alaska to Bellingham, Washington. In Bellingham, it's transferred for trucking, and trucked to Boise Cold Storage in the heart of Downtown Boise.
Freezing at sea:
A labor of love
CAREFULLY CLEANED ON OUR DECK
After being landed, your catch is headed, gutted, gently IV bled, then washed thoroughly. We even vacuum them before sending them downstairs to ensure there’s no blood, sea lice, or slime!
ENSURES FRESHNESS
Cellular degradation begins as soon as fish leave the water. Your “fresh” fish from the grocery store may actually be over 10 days old! By rapidly freezing our fish to - 45ºF, we “freeze it in time”, meaning your freshly thawed fish will taste like it just left the ocean.
immediately blast frozen
Our fish enter the vessel’s powerful blast freezer less than 60 minutes after leaving the ocean, locking in summer-fresh flavor long past the winter to come.
REDUCES WASTE
23% seafood harvested from our precious oceans goes to waste -- and the short shelf life of fresh fish demands hasty, carbon heavy transportation methods. By purchasing frozen fish, you're helping both the ocean, and your wallet. Thaw at will, enjoy delicious fish, and reduce waste while you're at it.
SUSTAINABLY hook + line caught
Our salmon, lingcod, and rockfish are all landed one at a time hook and line, using a fishing method called "power trolling". We drag between 20 - 80 hooks behind our boat, and use artificial lures to tempt fish into biting
GOOD FOR THE PLANET
Since our fish are all caught by hook, any unwanted catch (aka “by-catch”) can be safely returned to the sea. Common by-catch includes rockfish - which we’re allowed to retain, as well as king salmon, pink salmon, and halibut - all of which are safely returned to the ocean.
Caleb Robbins
Owner | Captain | Mechanic | Optimist
A third generation commercial fisherman, Caleb has salmon running through his veins. He grew up set netting on the mighty Alsek River, and made the leap to captaining an open ocean troller at the age of 17. He and Jessica tied the knot in 2013, and purchased their own vessel in 2016. Caleb's zest for life (and addiction to fishing) keeps the mood aboard the boat in high sprits - Even when wind and waves abound.
Jessica Robbins
Owner | Deckboss | Bookkeeper | Galley Chef
Jess began fishing with Caleb in 2012. Born and raised in Boise, the wild oceans of Alaska hooked her immediately, soon she realized -- no other life was possible. After graduating with her B.S. in Biology in 2014, she and Caleb began the hunt for their perfect vessel. They purchased the Alsek through a friend Jess met at Boise State - proving her college degree wasn't a total waste, after all.