Jobs with Icicle Seafoods

Icicle Seafoods was started when a group of fishermen and workers bought the Pacific American Fisheries cannery located in Petersburg, Alaska. The new company was originally incorporated as Petersburg Fisheries, Inc. As Icicle Seafoods grew, it introduced innovative solutions like year-round processing facilities and floating seafood processors.

The company offers employment opportunities at work locations in Dillingham, Dutch Harbor, Egegik, Homer, Larsen Bay, Naknek, Ninilchik, and Seward. It owns a number of barges, crabbers, trawlers and various other support vessels as part of its corporate holdings.

Visit the website for current job listings in Alaska and other locations.

Petersburg Fisheries Seafood Processing Plant

Petersburg Fisheries is a division of Icicle Seafoods, and it operates a seafood processing plant. Petersburg is a small community (population 3,500) located on an island in the southeastern region of the State. Petersburg, Alaska can only be reached by boat or plane. Workers may have no work available, or be on a shift for up to 16 hours per day, seven days a week.

The main job available at Petersburg Fisheries is for people to clean fish. The cleaning process involves cutting off the head, fins, tail and gills, as well as removing the internal organs. The workplace may be wet and cold. Protective gear to protect workers’ hearing is required while on the job.

The work requires a high degree of endurance. People who have back or wrist problems are not good candidates for working in a fish processing plant, due to the long time spent standing up and the repetitive nature of certain tasks.

Many workers return to Icicle Seafoods from one year to the next because the company pays competitive wages, as well as offering plenty of overtime. Anyone who works more than eight hours a day is entitled to overtime. Regular wages start at minimum wage and go up depending on the total work hours accumulated. Employees who work up to the annual Release Date (September 6) retain their accumulated hours for the following year.

Employees at Petersburg Fisheries are entitled to life and health insurance, as well as a retirement savings plan (401k). To qualify for health insurance benefits, a worker must stay on the job until the end of the season. The company provides rubber boots, gloves, waterproof pants and jackets to its workers.

To encourage workers to commit to the entire season, the company will pay up to $400 to offset the cost of travel to Petersburg. To qualify, a worker must arrive between June 1-August 1 and stay on the job until September 1. The worker must submit travel receipts by August 15 to receive compensation.

The company also gives sizeable bonuses to employees who refer other employees – up to $200 per referral. See their website for details.

Once hired, workers are given on-the-job training. Each employee is responsible for paying his or her own way to Petersburg. Once workers arrive, they are housed in company buildings, called bunkhouses. Between 4-16 workers may share a room. Housing is segregated by gender, and this rule is strictly enforced. Amenities include a big-screen TV, ping pong tables and shuffleboard. The company also provides six computers for employee use.

Meals are served cafeteria-style in a dining hall known as “The Cookhouse.” Employees are charged $3.50 plus sales tax per meal. A number of grocery stores and restaurants are also located close to the plant.

How to Apply for a Job at Petersburg Fisheries

Candidates who are interested in being considered for a job with Petersburg Fisheries can fill out an application form online.

Floating Processing Vessels

Icicle Seafoods also hires workers to staff its floating processing vessels. Candidates who would like to be considered for one of these positions can apply at any time by visiting the company website. They also have the option of calling the Icicle Job Line at (206) 281-0333 to get current information about available positions.

The work is similar to that performed by workers at on-land fish processing plants. The amount of work available depends on the amount of fish caught. Some days there may be no work, while at other times workers are on the job up to 18 hours per day.

Workers are housed on board the vessel, in rooms accommodating between four and eight people. A person who chooses to work on board a floating processing vessel needs to understand that there will be very little privacy. Opportunities for shore leave are limited as well.

When there are plenty of fish to be processed, workers on board Icicle Seafoods processing vessels can get lots of overtime, which is a definite draw for people looking to make money from this Alaska fishing job.