The cannery at Port Bailey was operated for most of the 20th century. Its location near the northwest coast of Kodiak Island allows for substantial production of Sockeye (Red), Pink (Humpy), Chum (Keta) and Coho (Silver) Salmon. There is substantial halibut and black cod (Sablefish) in the area. The Plant produced millions of pounds of canned salmon each year until it was closed in the late 1990s.
Kadiak Fisheries began construction of a cannery in Dry Spruce Bay near Kupreanof Strait in 1936. Most of the construction was done in 1937. The vice-president of the company at the time was F. Howard Bailey and the cannery was named in honor of him. The cannery was completed in the spring of 1938. After the Port Bailey plant was completed the company closed their plants in Kodiak, Shearwater Bay and Carmel and relinquished a lease with Shelikof Packing Company at Zachar Bay. In 1948 a fire destroyed most of the facility. The company decided to rebuild on the same site and reopened the cannery in 1949. The rebuilt Port Bailey cannery was the first major salmon cannery to be built following World War II. Columbia-Wards Fisheries purchased the Port Bailey plant in 1968.
Addional information can be found at these sites:
Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Home Page.
Kodiak Island, Alaska - Official Visitors Guide
KMXT Kodiak Alaska
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Port Bailey Cannery, Kodiak Island, 1938, Kadiak Fisheries |
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Pictures of Kadiak Fisheries salmon can labels from Alaska's Digital Archives click on picture to go to the informational page. |
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