Petersburg

The town of Petersburg comprises a small but thriving Alaskan fishing community located on Mitkof Island at about the midway point between Juneau and Ketchikan. It’s accessible only by air or sea.

Also known as Little Norway, Petersburg was founded by Norwegian fishing families over 100 years ago. Petersburg is named after Peter Buschmann, who came from Norway to homestead. The cannery he started in the 1890s is still operating. Petersburg, Alaska, has a sister town: Hammerfest, Norway.

The main income in Petersburg derives from commercial fishing, with millions of dollars of halibut, black cod, various species of salmon and crab, and seafood from the dive fisheries coming in and out each year. The fishers in Petersburg have a reputation for sustainable fishing practices. Many of the commercial fishers who live in Petersburg also travel to other parts of Alaska to fish. Major employers in Petersburg include Alaska Longline Company, Petersburg Fisheries (Icicle Seafoods), and Trident Seafoods Corporation.

Fishing is a rewarding but dangerous profession. There’s not much we can do about the weather and sea conditions, but there’s a lot we can do to keep a vessel seaworthy and to keep a crew well-trained. If you are injured while working on a fishing vessel, you probably have seaman’s status under the Jones Act and have rights to maintenance, cure, and lost wages. If you have any questions about your rights after an injury or illness while employed on a fishing vessel, contact the lawyers at Stacey & Jacobsen, PLLC for a free consultation. We are here to support the rights of those who work on boats, and we never represent the fishing companies or their insurance companies.