Salmon Roe Technicians Wanted

For something a little different today.

Sunday's Anchorage Daily News classified section included a bunch of long ads for:

1.   Salmon Roe Technicians:  5 Temporary, full time positions to work from 6/1/2019 to 9/20/2019. Work will be performed at plant in Valdez, AK.  Responsible for processing salmon roe to produce Ikura and Sujiko (Japanese salmon roe products) for export to Japan.  [Then there's a long description of all they have to do such as "sorting, salting, preserving, brining, seasoning, mixing, agitating, dewatering"  and then inspecting and packing, and providing technical expertise in grading and quality control  . . .]

This positions is 40 hours a week plus up to 40 hours overtime for $14.50/hour and $21.75/hour overtime.  It includes transportation to the site, housing and meals, and transportation back "if the worker completes half the employment period or is dismissed early by the employers."

Experience needed?  two years of this work processing roe for the Japanese market and knowledge of processing and grading standards for the Japanese market.

The employer is Pac-Maru Inc.  Seattle (which is a subsidiary of  Toyo Suisan Kaisha Ltd..)

2.  Salmon Roe Technicians:  5 temporary, full-time positions to work from 5/5/2019 to 9/20/2019.  These will be at "3 land plants in Kenai  and Kasilof, AK.  This one is pretty similar, but it's up to 44 hours overtime and pays $15/hour and $22/hour overtime.

This one is from North Pacific Seafoods, Seattle

3.  Also Salmon Roe Technicians - this one for Cordova, Naknek, Togiak, Unalakleet, and/or Kenai, AK.   $14.50/hour and $21.50/hour overtime.

The employer Nomura Trading Co., Ltd, Bellevue, WA.

4.  Peter Pan Seafoods is looking for 9 Salmon Roe Technicians - for Dillingham and Valdez.  This ad has much the same details though the language is a little different.  It only pays $14.48/hour and $21.72/hour over time, but it has up to 50 hours of overtime possible.  They'll also pay for visa and border crossing expenses.  And you apply, not to the company, but to the Alaska Dept. of Labor.

Here are some worker comments about Peter Pan Seafoods.

5.  Westwood Seafoods has openings for 7 seafood processing technicians (surimi and roe) in Dutch Harbor.  "Must be willing to work up to 12 or more hours per day, 7 days per week, depending on fish availability.  Big difference here:  Wage is $20-$40/hour DOE plus health insurance and potential for bonus.  Overtime at $30-$60 per hour DOE.  Free room and board as well, however, return transportation paid only if employee works the whole contract or is dismissed.  (Getting back from Dutch Harbor is a lot more than Valdez or Kenai!)  And the contract is from 5/24 to 10/24/2019.  Again, apply at Alaska Dept. of Labor.

6.  Premier Pacific Seafoods, Inc has openings for 3 seafood processing technicians (surimi and roe) on board M/ Excellence or the Phoenix vessel in the Bering Sea and North Pacific.  Wages here are $16.65 to $30/hour and $24.98 to $45/hour overtime, depending on experience, or if higher, $235 - $300 per day, plus health insurance, possible bonus, and room and board.
Here are some worker comments about Premier Pacific. 

7.  Finally Nicherei U.S.A. LLC has 25 openings for Salmon Roe Technicians "at multiple work sites in SW Alaska, incl. plants in Cordova, Kodiak, Naknek, and Valdez.  35 regular hours at $14.48/hour and up to 30 additional at $21.72/hour overtime.  This one has slightly different wording about food and lodging.  The others said this was free.  This one includes it in a sentence about travel to site (reimbursed if complete half the period) and travel back (if complete whole period.)  The wording suggests that meals will be covered if half the contract is worked.


I understand that lots of college students go work in fish processing plants and on fishing ships over the summer for the adventure and the pay that comes with all the overtime.  But it would seem to me that a Salmon Roe Technician with two years experience are harder to find and should get paid more than minimum wage.  The only two companies here paying more than minimum wage are Westwood Seafoods and Premier Pacific Seafoods, though the later is on a ship which adds more adventure but also much more risk.

NOTE:  I saw these ads in the print edition and couldn't find them online. They're on pages C-2 and C-3, of the Sunday Anchorage Daily News, March 17, 2019.