Your Fishermen
Bristol Bay Sockeye - Nathan Hill and Billy Sarandria
Nathan and Billy hail from a multi-generational fishing family with deep roots in Bristol Bay. Nathan is one of six children who grew up set-netting with his parents, BJ and Pete Hill. Today, Nathan fishes with his nephew Billy on a productive set-net site on North Naknek beach.
Nathan is a year-round Bristol Bay resident and serves as Lake and Peninsula Borough Manager. He resides in the village of Kokhanok, located on the south shore of Lake Iliamna. When Billy's not fishing, you'll find him in Juneau, where he works as a school teacher and lives with his wife and baby. He returns to Bristol Bay each summer to fish and spend time with his close-knit family.
Wild Alaska Halibut - Erik and Lacey Velsko, F/V Dangerous Cape
Erik Velsko was born and raised in Homer, Alaska. He graduated from the California Maritime Academy in 2005 with a BS in Marine Transportation and a minor in law. Erik also holds a 1600 Ton Master Oceans license. Mr. Velsko has been involved in Alaska’s commercial fisheries since a very young age, and has been a part of many of Alaska’s iconic fisheries. He has extensive wheelhouse experience in the Bering Sea crab and cod fisheries, but in recent years has returned to his childhood fishing grounds to be close to his young family. Currently, Erik captains their local fishing vessel Dangerous Cape harvesting Pacific cod, sablefish, and halibut in the Gulf of Alaska. He also travels to Bristol Bay each summer to operate his gillnet vessel Dire Straits in the competitive sockeye salmon fishery. Erik is on the Board of Directors for the North Pacific Fishing Association based in Homer and is also a member of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council IFQ Committee. Mr. Velsko is a strong advocate for second generation Alaskan fishermen, and works tirelessly to ensure their future when he’s not on the water. He is married to Lacey, who is also a lifelong Alaskan, and they have three young children Britta, Estelle and Leo.
Darius Kasprzak, F/V Marona - Kodiak Jig-Caught Rockfish and Cod
“To jig is to be transported back to the primal essence of fishing. The hand-tended hook & line technique, which is among the oldest of the nautical traditions, is how one sustainably harvests & handles premium seafood. Jig fishing is not only a low impact & ecosystem conscious fishing practice, it connects local hire to closely knit seaports & villages.”
– Darius Kasprzak, Kodiak Jig fisherman and President of the Alaska Jig Association
The Carpenter Family, F/V Fish Tale - Kodiak Jig-Caught Rockfish and Cod
The Carpenters are a first-generation fishing family from the remote and rugged island of Kodiak, Alaska. Leonard and Anita, together with their sons Matt and Tristen harvest cod, rockfish, halibut, and salmon from the pristine waters of the Gulf of Alaska aboard the F/V Fish Tale. Their daughter Traci and her husband Ryan also live and work in Kodiak, and have two beautiful kids.
Copper River Sockeye -
John Derek Wiese, F/V Genevieve Rose
John Derek grew up in Cordova fishing with his family. His boat is named after his oldest daughter. John Derek, his wife Amanda and their two young girls live in Anchorage. John is an excellent hunter and loves to travel. He is part owner of 60 North Seafoods.
Rich Wheeler, F/V Camilou
Rich is part owner of 60 North Seafoods and has been fishing out of Cordova since 2012. He grew up on Vashon Island in Washington State and married his childhood sweetheart, Sena. Together they live in eastern Washington and have three children.
Bret Bradford, F/V Nerka
Bret, a Cordova resident, grew up in Southeast Alaska trolling for salmon. He has been gillnetting on the Copper River Flats since 2016 and has already proved himself a talented fishermen of this area in that short time. He is very involved in community fishery advocacy and the local fishermen’s union. Brett invested in 60 North this spring.
Ryan Broughton, F/V Crown Royal
Ryan, a resident of Seward, AK, now enjoys fishing alongside his young son Jack who recently began running a boat of his own. He was an early investor in 60 North Seafoods.
Copper River Coho - Hayley Hoover, F/V Obsidian
Growing up in a multi-generational commercial fishing family, Hayley Hoover knew that commercial fishing kept a roof over her head and clothes on her back. Throughout her teenage years, Hoover drift gill netted for salmon in Prince William Sound with her dad and then spent the next two summers as a salmon gillnet and seine deck hand in Prince William Sound. Fishing in Prince William Sound inspired a curiosity of the environment that led to a B.A. in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Forestry from Warren Wilson College. After college, Hoover held jobs as an Education Outreach Specialist with the Prince William Sound Science Center and as a Forestry Crew Technician while continuing to work as a deckhand in the summers. In 2014, she acquired an Area E Salmon Drift Gillnet Permit and purchased the Obsidian, the fishing vessel she grew up on. She has been running her own gillnet operation ever since.
Copper River Coho - Tyee Lohse and Kanisha Tiedeman, F/V Free Ride
A third generation fisherman, Tyee Lohse was born and raised in Cordova. He bought his first gill net boat in 2001 at age 15 and has been fishing commercially on the Copper River flats ever since. Also raised in Cordova, Kanisha Tiedeman is an Alaska native and fourth generation commercial fisherman whose ancestors lived off the ocean for hundreds of years. In 2010, Tyee and Kanisha teamed up and began seining in Prince William Sound, and in 2012 they were married. A great team, Kanisha builds the nets and Tyee fishes. They have a five-year-old son, Tanner, and a two-year-old daughter, Akalya, who share their love of the sea and wild fish.