Homer fishermen retrofit vessels with slurry-ice system to pursue higher-value markets

Lacey Velasco, a small commercial harvester from Homer, told the Joint Legislative Task Force on Alaska Seafood Industry on Jan. 10 that her family retrofitted one of its vessels with a refrigerated slurry-ice system and insulated tubs to keep fish colder and reduce handling between capture and processing.

The work was presented to the task force as an example of a “value-driven” approach that differs from Alaska’s long-standing volume-driven model. Velasco said she and her husband converted a 58-foot combination vessel and installed an optimized refrigerated slurry system from an Icelandic supplier; they also bought dedicated fish totes and now ship whole, iced fish in containers to a Washington processor.

The task force members were told the process on board includes bleeding, gutting and placing whole fish into insulated tubs, adding slurry ice so the fish are kept at very low temperatures without freezing, then offloading totes directly to a dock or container for shipment. “This fish is not being pumped. It’s not being moved around at all,” Velasco said.

Task force members and harvesters discussed why the retrofit was pursued. Velasco and presenter Hannah Heimbuch said falling prices and higher operating costs pushed the family to change how they handled catch to capture more value for species — notably Pacific cod and black cod — that had seen steep price declines in recent years. They said the conversion reduced catch volume but also reduced fuel and bait costs and improved crew pay and retention.

Velasco said the system extends high-quality chilled storage: she told the task force slurry-ice systems used internationally can preserve product “up to 15 days” from capture, giving processors and shippers more time to move product without resorting to freezing. She declined to disclose negotiated unit prices with her buyer but said the premium had so far offset lower volumes.

Presenters discussed barriers harvesters face adopting similar systems: limited grant opportunities for harvesters to buy specialized onboard gear; processor consolidation that narrows where harvesters can sell premium product; and limited public shore-side infrastructure in some ports (docks, cranes, cold storage). They asked the state to consider targeted loan or grant programs, an inventory of port infrastructure, and federal support (for example, through USDA programs) that would make on-vessel quality investments more attainable for small and family-run businesses.

Velasco said she approached processors about co-investing early on but received little interest from larger processors. She and others asked the state to catalog port side assets and ownership to identify where public investments or incentives would yield the largest benefit for community-scale operations.

Task force members said they would consider language that highlights small-boat, value-added innovations in the task force’s strategic plan and that an “infrastructure audit” of shore-side assets in Alaska ports could be a useful next step.

The harvesters’ presentation was framed by task force members as a demonstration that operational changes on deck and modest shore-side support could increase the share of final product value that reaches harvesters without waiting for large processors to lead.

Velasco and Heimbuch asked the task force to publicize the example as a model and to consider loan or tax-credit programs that explicitly include equipment for preserving catch quality on board and supporting small-scale processors that can handle chilled whole fish.