Gearing up for summit of young fishermen

The eighth Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit (AYFS) is coming soon.

Sponsored by Alaska Sea Grant, the three-day networking and skill-building conference is aimed at new entrants in Alaska’s commercial fishing industry to help them manage and grow their businesses. Next month, it’ll be held at the Westmark Baranof Hotel in downtown Juneau, January 21–23, 2020.

The event is fast-paced and features prominent industry leaders as speakers and mentors, and energizes younger fishermen to network with peers from around the state. One of the keynote speakers at the upcoming summit will be Jim Hubbard, a boat owner and operator for over 40 years who has fished halibut, sablefish, cod and turbot from Southeast Alaska to the Bering Sea.

The Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit was featured in the November issue of Pacific Fishing. We spoke with Juneau fishermen Iris and Chris Nash, graduates of AYFS. The couple is starting to direct market their catch and plan to return to AYFS to network and learn from industry veterans. Read the article “Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit graduates put conference skills into practice.”