Annette Island Packing Company

The Metlakatla Indian Community fishery, located in tribal waters surrounding the Annette Islands Reserve in Southeast Alaska, has been awarded Marine Stewardship Council certification by an independent, third-party certifier. The MSC certification covers, pink, chum, coho and king salmon caught by seine, troll and gillnet. Our ancestors who came to Annette Island in 1887 were dedicated environmental stewards of the land and the sea and MSC certification confirms our commitment to preserve the legacy we inherited and manage the resource to sustain the fish stocks and our heritage for future Metlakatla generations, says Karl Cook Jr., a commercial fisherman and tribal member.

The Annette Islands Reserve was granted to a group of Tsimshian Indians originally from Metlakatla, British Columbia by the U.S. Congress in 1891. Three decades later, in 1944, agreement was reached between the Metlakatla and U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs that established commercial fishing management practices. The fishery is managed by the Metlakatla Tribal Council in conjunction with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Only Metlakatla tribal members can obtain commercial fishing licenses.