GILBERT, Ariz. — Fresh fish can be hard to come by in a land-locked state, especially in the desert. But an Arizona family is making it possible after taking a big risk nearly 2,600 miles away in Wrangell, Alaska.
Brian Herman’s dream turned reality stretches from the Verde Valley to Alaska and back to the Phoenix area.
“And this oyster farm came up for sale and it kind of intrigued us and started doing the research on it and decided to go ahead and purchase the business," Herman said.
And with that one purchase, Herman and his Arizona family became Alaska oyster farmers. The Herman family took the chance of a lifetime by buying the oyster farm, even though they'd never farmed them before.
Herman said he spent a lot of time researching oyster farming online. The previous farm owner also helped train him, along with other experienced Alaska farmers, he said.
His venture with Canoe Lagoon Oysters started right before COVID-19 hit and he said that experience was a unique challenge. One that led Herman’s Arizona to Alaska oyster farm back home to the desert, to Buck and Rider and Executive Chef Daniel Torres.
“It’s literally almost a 24-hour if not 36-hour difference from when it gets out of the water to your plates," Torres said.
There are two keys to their seamless process to get fresh fish to the desert, Torres stated, saying it is all about logistics and timing.
Herman said his oysters share a plane to the Valley known as the "Southeast Alaska milk run." The aircraft typically carry more cargo than passengers.
“That is how Southeast Alaska survives, is these daily flights for fresh food and product going in and out of these towns," Herman said.
And it turns out Alaska’s water churns some pretty tasty oysters. “It’s a perfect habitat for oysters which allows a clean, crisp flavor on the oysters," Torres said.
There are only about 2,500 people who live on the island where the Canoe Lagoon oyster farm is located. Herman said the main part of the town is only about one mile long and there’s one paved road out of town. Wrangell, Alaska runs mostly on fishing, Herman said and tourism is a growing industry.
Herman's oyster farm is planted in saltwater in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Since there’s no fresh water, the oysters have a different flavor profile. He has two employees who run his day-to-day operation and the farm is a 30-mile trip by boat. There are cabins out there to work and the ride can take between 1.5 to 4.5 hours by boat, depending on weather.
“Typically when we go to the farm it’s three to four days at a time," Herman said. "So you’ll go out there and you’re harvesting oysters, cleaning them. You have to keep resizing all of the oysters.”
Herman said weather can get treacherous, so safety is always number one. According to Herman, they sell about 130-140 dozen oysters per week to Buck and Rider now and plan to expand in the next year.
His wife and two daughters live in Alaska full time now, while he travels back and forth between there and Arizona, running businesses.
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