In August 2002, WWC seniors Landon and Justin Libby started their own business-Libby Brothers LLC. With the slogan "Bringing Alaska’s premium wild salmon to you," they say their fishing company offers customers the security of knowing where their fish are from.

The Libby brothers market their fish as "processed at sea." While the average Alaskan salmon likely has three or four different people handling it-catching, unloading at the dock, cutting and packaging- Landon and Justin catch and process their own fish.

Each brother has a fishing boat 32 feet long and 14 feet wide-the maximum allowed in Bristol Bay, Alaska. They share the 30-foot barge that serves as their processing plant. Cutting tables take up half of the barge, and the other half is a tented area housing the vacuum packer and freezer. This isolated environment provides more cleanliness and freedom from contaminants as well as a much faster transition from sea to freezer. The brothers’ goal is 24 hours from water to plate.

Going global

Most Alaskan fish go through five or six intermediaries before reaching the consumer, but Landon and Justin decided to bypass those middle steps. Taking off spring quarter last year, they traveled to Boston and New York, to the Florida Keys, to Louisiana and Texas, and to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Although they had instant sales only in Miami and San Francisco, their New York contacts have proved profitable. In fact, they were mentioned in the food section of the July 7, 2004, New York Post.

During fishing season-June 20 to July 25-Libby Brothers is the exclusive supplier to 15 restaurants of the national chain Be Our Guest, Inc. During the rest of the year, they take orders, mainly from private individuals. Though they do take phone orders, they are trying to move to a strictly Internet business (see www.libbybrothers.net). Their goal is to "go global with Libby Brothers."

Time for teamwork Catching and processing 5,000 to 6,000 pounds of sockeye and king salmon, ranging from 7 to 25 pounds each, is no small task. Including their father, Jim, and themselves, there are seven people working for Libby Brothers. During no-fishing hours, which are regulated by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, they all work on the processing barge.

Landon and Justin say their dad does a lot of the behind-the-scenes work. In addition, he has financed their boats and loaned them money for starting their business. However, they say that they are not only on target with payments to Dad but are making money as well.

But it’s not all about the money, they say. "It’s all about the love" is the company motto. And the love of fishing goes back a long way in the Libby family. Their grandfather, John Elden Libby, a WWC attendee from 1934 to 1935, moved from Moses Lake, WA, to Bristol Bay in the late 1940s. The family has been fishing ever since.

For the Libby family, fishing has become a multigeneration tradition. Justin and Landon’s father and all three of his siblings are also fisher folk. In fact, Justin says that their dad is "a fisherman by trade and a dentist by hobby!"

Both born during the summer fishing months, Justin and Landon boast that they’ve never yet missed a fishing season.

Landon, 23, is a business administration major with a minor in chemistry. Justin, 21, is a health science major.

After graduation it’s back to the fishing boats for the summer. Future plans include a year off in Europe, then dental school for Landon and possibly for Justin as well.