Industry

Alaska's plan to pay out nearly $50 million to the fishing industry for pandemic relief has been approved by the federal government. 

That's after two major revisions and more than 200 public comments from every industry sector.

Trident Seafoods' huge processing plant on the remote Aleutian island of Akutan reopened Friday after a nearly month-long COVID-19 closure. 

An outbreak at the plant forced the fishing giant to close the facility in late January just as the lucrative winter season was set to kick off. Forty-five percent of Trident's 700-person workforce ultimately tested positive for the virus, company officials said Monday.  

A two-week federal inquiry into the fatal sinking of the F/V Scandies Rose — lost on New Year's Eve 2019 west of Kodiak Island — will open on Monday in Seattle.

The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies will hold a virtual formal hearing to consider evidence related to the sinking of the Dutch Harbor-based fishing vessel until March 5.

A 233-foot floating processor owned by Trident Seafoods caught fire shortly before midnight Wednesday. The processor, Aleutian Falcon, was docked at the Port of Tacoma, Washington. 

Trident has said the vessel is a total loss, according to multiple news outlets. 

Unalaska's largest fish processing plant reopened Monday after a COVID-19 outbreak forced it to shut down for almost a month. 

UniSea closed its doors Jan. 5 after a handful of workers tested positive for the virus, following a New Year's gathering in company housing.