Norton Sound Economic Development Corp. in Nome has acquired
KDS Inc., a Seattle-based fishing company that primarily harvests golden king
crab in the Aleutian Islands.
KDS Inc., formerly owned by Dick Powell of Kodiak, is now a
wholly owned subsidiary of NSEDC, the community development quota entity
announced on Nov. 15. The acquisition includes nearly 1.2 million pounds of
Western Aleutian Islands golden king crab quota, smaller quota holdings of
Bering Sea opilio crab, St. Matthew Island blue king crab and a significant
portion of the total allowable catch of Western Aleutian Islands red king crab,
a fishery that is currently closed.
The deal also includes the fishing vessel Patricia
Lee, a catcher-processor, which KDS Inc. sold to NSEDC’s for profit
subsidiary, Siu Alaska Corp.
The golden king crab quota, however, was the primary target
and component of the acquisition. For well over a decade this fishery has
proven itself exceptionally stable in terms of commercial harvest levels, NSEDC
officials said.
NSEDC also came into the deal with extensive experience in
the fishery through SIU Alaska Corp. and its ownership stake in the crab vessel
Aleutian
No. 1. Captains and crew of the Aleutian No. 1 have successfully
fished the remote Western Aleutian Island golden king crab fishery for years
and will now be contracted to fish quota for KDS Inc.
Dan Harrelson of White Mountain, Alaska, board chairman of
NSEDC, said bringing KDS into the NSEDC family is a significant and positive
move for both NSEDC and the 15 member communities it represents. “When NSEDC
expands into different fisheries, our corporation becomes more stable,”
Harrelson said. “The less dependent we are on any one fishery, the more we are
able to assure that NSEDC can continue to provide benefits and economic
development well into the future.”