The Alaska Packers' Association (APA) was a

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

-based manufacturer of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

canned salmon founded in 1891 and sold in 1982. As the largest salmon packer in Alaska, the member canneries of APA were active in local affairs, and had considerable political influence. The Alaska Packers' Association is best known for operating the "Star Fleet," the last fleet of commercial sailing vessels on the West Coast of North America, as late as 1927.

Foundation

The APA was formed in 1891 when the Alaska salmon industry was in its infancy but already produced more canned salmon than the market could bear. The association was initially formed to sell off the surplus pack and it proved so successful that it incorporated in 1892 as the Alaska Packing Association to better manage canned salmon production to meet demand. Of the original 31 member canneries across Alaska, 9 were idled that year. With minor changes, the association reincorporated as the Alaska Packers Association in 1893. Henry Frederick Fortmann (1856–1946), owner of the Arctic Packing Company, one of the original member companies, served as APA president from its inception until 1922 and remained on the board until his death. Other presidents included William Timson and A.K. Tichenor.

Expansion

As the industry later expanded, the APA emerged as the largest salmon packer in Alaska with canneries that stretched from

Bristol Bay Bristol Bay (, ) is the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km (250 mi) long and 290 km (180 mi) wide at its mouth. A number of rivers flow in ...

, Chignik, Karluk,

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet (; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding ...

, and the Southeast Alaska panhandle. The company's various canneries were identified as "Diamonds" followed by an initial including: the Diamond NC was their Clark's Point, Alaska cannery (after its originator the Nushagak Canning Co.), the Diamond E ( Egegik), Diamond J and X ( Kvichak River) Diamond W ( Wrangell). On their boats and frequently in company correspondence the word diamond was not used but a diamond was drawn around the cannery initial. The Diamond NC cannery in Clark's Point, built in 1888 is still in existence but has not been used as a cannery since 1950. The Diamond M and Diamond O cannery in South Naknek built in 1895 is still in operation today. Canned salmon was then as the largest industry in Alaska and produced over 80% of the territory's tax revenues. The APA wielded considerable clout in the territorial capital

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

and

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, where the fishery was regulated by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the US

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business ...

. The absentee control of a major industry and the APA's dominant role provoked resentment among many Alaskans who viewed the industry as greedy, selfish and ruthless. Alaska Territorial Rep. Dan Sutherland reviled the APA as "the great monopolists of

." The APA used its clout to lessen the impacts of salmon regulations on the industry and reap other benefits. The company operated salmon hatcheries near Karluk and Loring and took tax credits for the salmon smolt that were released. In 1907, the APA canned over $3 million worth of salmon and thanks to credits for hatchery releases that totaled over $32,000, owed just 32 cents in taxes, a bill they paid for with stamps. To its credit, the APA came to the aid of Alaskans when needed. Its cannery hospitals provided medical care for neighboring Native residents and when the worldwide

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

pandemic ravaged western Alaska in the spring of 1919, the APA helped bury the hundreds of dead, and provided care for the ill and orphaned children, even when the federal government did little to render aid. After a Navy Lieutenant inspected the situation in Bristol Bay and reported the conditions as "satisfactory," the APA's Kvichak cannery superintendent J. C. Bell retorted, "We have not been able to fathom whether the conditions are satisfactory for them or the natives who are dead and buried … and as usual the job is up to the Alaska Packers Association."

Mergers and acquisitions

In 1916, Alaska Packers Association, Griffin & Skelley, Central California Canneries, J. K. Armsby Co., and California Fruit Canners Association merged to form California Packing Corporation (CalPack),The Alaska Packers Association
- Alaska Public Media a company involved in canned fruits and vegetables and Hawaiian pineapple, and later reorganized as

Del Monte Foods Del Monte Foods Inc. ( trading as Del Monte Foods) is an American food production and distribution company and subsidiary of NutriAsia, headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the largest producers, distributor ...

after the name of its premier brand. The APA later moved its headquarters to the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

area. The company generally prospered through the 1930s as salmon production grew but many Alaska canneries were idled during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and never reopened. During

Alaska Packers' Association operated Merchant navy ships for the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was a corporation established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting ...

. During World War II Alaska Packers' Association was active with charter shipping with the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

and

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

. Alaska Packers' Association operated

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

s and other ships for the merchant navy. The ship was run by its Alaska Packers' Association and the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

supplied

United States Navy Armed Guard The United States Navy Armed Guard was a force of United States Navy gunners and related personnel established during World War II to protect U.S. merchant shipping from enemy attack.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merc ...

s to man the deck guns and radio. Example ships operated: USS Alkes, SS ''Louis A. Sengteller'', and SS Joseph Smith, which sank in 1944. After the war, salmon runs declined for a variety of reasons including past overfishing, lax management and a general downturn in salmon survival due to a change in long-term climate cycles known as the

Pacific decadal oscillation The Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) is a robust, recurring pattern of ocean-atmosphere climate variability centered over the mid-latitude Pacific basin. The PDO is detected as warm or cool surface waters in the Pacific Ocean, north of 20°N. O ...

. Many APA canneries were 50 years old and in need of major modernization but CalPack accountants questioned the investment in rebuilding canneries when salmon runs were in decline and consumers' tastes were turning from salmon to more cheap and abundant

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

. Alaska salmon production remained generally poor throughout the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s, by which time the company sought out. In 1982, when salmon runs showed signs of resurgence, most of the APA's assets were sold to

ConAgra Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

for an undisclosed amount. Many of these properties in Bristol Bay have since been acquired by Trident Seafoods.

The Star Fleet

The APA is perhaps best remembered for operating one of the last fleets of

tall ships A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a r ...

. Although this invoked the romance of the days of sail, reliance on wind rather than steam was a way for the company to economize. The salmon packing industry was a very seasonal business and old sailing ships were relatively cheap and available. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the APA began to replace its wooden ships with iron-hulled vessels by purchasing a number of ships built by Harland & Wolff Co. for James P. Corry and Co.'s Star Line. APA purchased the following ships (in order of build) from others who had purchased from James P. Corry and Co. - ''Star of Italy'', ''Star of Russia'', '' Star of Bengal'' and ''Star of France''.OCLC: 25389351
/ref> The first of these vessels bought by the APA was the ''Star of Russia.'' The company liked the naming pattern used for the Star Line's ships so much that it used this pattern for the naming of its other vessels, naming them ''Star of Alaska'', ''Star of Finland'', etc. By 1930, most of the sailing ships were replaced with steam or diesel powered ships. Alaska's notorious weather resulted in a number of accidents involving the sailing ships, most notably the sinking of the ''Star of Bengal'' on September 20, 1908. The vessel was towed from

Wrangell, Alaska Wrangell (, ) is a List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, borough in Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 2,127, down from 2,369 in 2010. Incorporated as a consolidated city–county ...

with the full cannery crew and over 52,000 cases or 2.5 million 1-pound cans of salmon on board. Upon reaching the outer coast, a gale blew up. The towboats cut their lines and the vessel's anchors dragged. The 262 foot ship broke up on the rocks of

Coronation Island Coronation Island is the largest of the South Orkney Islands, long and from wide. The island extends in a general east–west direction, is mainly ice-covered and comprises numerous bays, glaciers and peaks, the highest rising to . History T ...

and 111 people died, mostly Chinese and Japanese cannery workers. In 1927, the APA still owned fourteen square-rigged sailing vessels in its "Star Fleet" of which only two remain. The ''Star of India'' is now ported at the

San Diego Maritime Museum The Maritime Museum of San Diego is a maritime museum in San Diego, California. Established in 1948, it preserves one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the United States. Located on San Diego Bay, the centerpiece of the museum ...

. The ''Star of Alaska'', originally named the Balclutha, was given back its original name and is ported in San Francisco as part of the Maritime National Historical Park. The ''Star of Russia'' now lies in 40 metres of water in Port Vila harbor,

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

and is a popular dive site. Other ships in this series that are no longer afloat include the ''Star of Bengal'', ''Star of England'', ''Star of Falkland'', ''Star of Finland'', ''Star of France'', ''Star of Greenland'', ''Star of Holland'', ''Star of Iceland'', ''Star of Italy'', ''Star of Lapland'', ''Star of Poland'', ''Star of Scotland'', ''Star of Shetland'', and ''Star of Zealand.''

Gallery of the Star Fleet

File:Balclutha (San Francisco).JPG, '' Star of Alaska'', now museum ship ''Balclutha'' File:BalculthaViewAft.JPG, Deck of ''Balclutha'' in Maritime National Historical Park, 2005 File:StateLibQld 1 171287 Star of Bengal (ship).jpg, '' Star of Bengal'' File:StateLibQld 1 113932 Star of England (ship).jpg, ''Star of England'' File:StateLibQld 1 172775 Star of Finland (ship).jpg, ''Star of Finland'' File:StateLibQld 1 171279 Star of France (ship).jpg, Bow of ''Star of France'' File:StateLibQld 1 172763 Star of Iceland (ship).jpg, ''Star of Iceland'' File:Starofindia.jpg, '' Star of India'' docked in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, 2005 File:Sailing ship Euterpe.jpg, ''Star of India'' in 1883 File:StateLibQld 1 169775 Star of Italy (ship).jpg, ''Star of Italy'' File:StateLibQld 1 173535 Star of Lapland (ship).jpg, ''Star of Lapland'' File:StateLibQld 1 169771 Star of Scotland (ship).jpg, ''Star of Scotland''

Current status

The name APA is now used by the Seattle-based At-Sea Processors Association. This

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

represents seven companies that own and operate 19 US flag catcher/processor vessels active in the Alaska

pollock Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic ocean, marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as "pollock" in North America, Ireland and the Unit ...

and West Coast

Pacific whiting The North Pacific hake, Pacific hake, Pacific whiting, or jack salmon (''Merluccius productus'') is a Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish in the genus ''Merluccius'', found in the northeast Pacific Ocean from northern Vancouver Island to the northern ...

fisheries. At-Sea Processors Association has no connection to the earlier ''Alaska Packers' Association''.

Notes

References

Alaska Packers Association records, Corporate HistoryThe Alaska Packers Association, Dyal 2008Ships related to the Alaska Packers Association, Dyal 2008

Video and images

42 min. video - archive.org
Photographs of Alaska Packers Association
Western Waters Digital Library
Alaska Packer's Association Fleet and Shipyards
*

External links

* Alaska Packers' Association
Canned Salmon Recipes
1900. color illustrations -

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

Catching a Can in Ketichkan, A History of the Canned Salmon Capital of the WorldA Guide to the Alaska Packer's Association Log Books, 1876-1945

Alaska Packers Association
- Alaska's Digital Archives

{{Authority control Food and drink companies based in San Francisco Manufacturing companies based in San Francisco Defunct manufacturing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Ships of the Star Line Commercial fishing in Alaska Pre-statehood history of Alaska 1891 establishments in California Food and drink companies established in 1891 Food and drink companies disestablished in 1982 1982 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1891 American companies disestablished in 1982 Manufacturing companies established in 1891 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1982 Fish processing companies Maritime history Salmon Gilded Age Progressive Era in the United States