About Us
A world of services under one roof
Over forty years ago, we turned a shipping barge docked in Dutch Harbor (a city in Unalaska, Alaska) into one of the world’s most successful processing facilities for fresh Alaskan seafood.
As we’ve grown over the years, we’ve continued to stand out for our unparalleled commitment to quality and care. Not only do we deliver consistent, high-quality products and services, we believe in providing the best experience in the industry for both our customers and employees.
Whether we’re processing and shipping the finest seafood from Dutch Harbor, storing product in our Cold Storage facility in Redmond, Washington, or hosting international travelers in Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, Alaska, we’re dedicated to maintaining our legacy of consistency and quality in everything we do.
Brought together by great seafood.
Our History
1974
UNIVERSAL SEAFOODS, LTD., IS FOUNDED
Universal Seafoods, Ltd., also called UniSea, was established to enter the booming Alaska Crab fisheries in Dutch Harbor and Bering Sea
1975
BARGE UNISEA BEGINS PROCESSING
The Barge UniSea, a World War II Liberty ship that we converted into a shore-based seafood processing vessel, began processing Alaska Red King Crab in October 1975 after docking in Dutch Harbor in July.
1976
UNISEA INN OPENS
Just two years after the company’s founding, we opened the UniSea Inn, a ten-room hotel located on Amaknak Island in Dutch Habor–Unalaska, Alaska.
1977
COLD STORAGE OPENS IN REDMOND, WA
UniSea built its new Cold Storage and processing facility on an 11-acre lot in Redmond, Washington. The facility became our company headquarters. While the plant’s primary design was to process its own crab, it also included space for processing and freezing seafood and for re-boxing frozen products from Alaska.
1977
UNISEA PURCHASES VITA FOODS
By obtaining the Vita Foods processing barge, we expanded UniSea’s processing facilities in Dutch Harbor–Unalaska.
1979
UNISEA COMPLETES COLD STORAGE EXPANSION
Our expansion to the Cold Storage facility in Redmond, Washington added three shipping and receiving docks as well as a new processing area.
1985
UNISEA PURCHASES PACIFIC PEARL
UniSea purchased Pacific Pearl, a processing facility in Dutch Harbor. The facility was converted to produce surimi, which is a fish protein manufactured from Pollock and used as the main ingredient in processed food products such as imitation crab.
1985
UNIVERSAL SEAFOODS, LTD., BECOMES JUST UNISEA, INC.
Eleven years after Universal Seafoods, Ltd., was founded, we officially renamed the company to UniSea, Inc.
1986
G1 PLANT BECOMES OPERATIONAL
Our plant, G1, began producing surimi once we completed the conversion of the Pacific Pearl processing plant. Surimi is a high-quality frozen fish protein manufactured from pollock.
1989
G2 PLANT BECOMES OPERATIONAL
Three years after completing the G1 plant conversion, our new processing plant, G2, opened in Dutch Harbor–Unalaska with surimi as the sole item in production.
1990
UNISEA CORPORATE OFFICE OPENS IN REDMOND, WA
This year marked significant changes to the UniSea Cold Storage facility. We added additional processing facilities and migrated UniSea Headquarters from the main Cold Storage facility to its own building.
1991
UNISEA EXPANDS TO INCLUDE COD
Expanding on its success in the surimi industry, UniSea expanded in 1991 to include Pacific cod in its family of products.
1994
UNISEA IS AWARDED VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PROGRAM STAR STATUS
The Voluntary Protection Program Star Status (VPP) was first awarded in 1994, then every five years after. This is the highest award for Alaska safety and health. UniSea is the only seafood company with the VPP safety program, and is proud to have been consistently awarded star status since 1994.
1999
POLLOCK FILLET PROCESSING BEGINS
Ten years after beginning operations as a surimi processing plant, UniSea’s G2 plant in Dutch Harbor–Unalaska begins processing pollock fillet blocks.
2005
UNISEA ACQUIRES ROYAL ALEUTIAN SEAFOODS, INC.
Thirty years after UniSea’s founding, our acquisition of Royal Aleutian Seafoods, Inc., enabled us to increase our crab production.
2009
UNISEA COLD STORAGE BEGINS NEW CONSTRUCTION
UniSea plans to expand and upgrade our Cold Storage facility.
2011
SEASHARE RECOGNIZES UNISEA FOR PHILANTHROPY
Each year, SeaShare donates millions of pounds of seafood to food banks with support from the seafood industry. In 2011, SeaShare recognized UniSea and our sister company, Glacier Fish, for donating 5 million meals.
2015
G1 DOCK IS REBUILT IN DUTCH HARBOR
UniSea invested over $20 million dollars in rebuilding the G1 dock area.
2017
COD PLANT IS RECONSTRUCTED
Two years after rebuilding the G1 processing plant dock in Dutch Harbor–Unalaska, UniSea finished modernizing and automating the G1 cod plant
2024
50TH ANNIVERSARY
Celebrating a half century of providing high-quality seafood around the world
One world, one family
UniSea is proud to be a member of NISSUI’s “global links,” a network of select worldwide companies committed to delivering high-quality seafood products.
Our Global Fleet Partners
UniSea works with a group of independent fishing vessel owners who form the backbone of our production. Many of the vessels and owners have delivered to UniSea for over 40 years, catching and delivering high-quality seafood to our Dutch Harbor plant.
Environmental Policy
UniSea, Inc. is committed to the concepts of sustainable fisheries and environmentally responsible food manufacturing.
UniSea, Inc. supports sustainable fisheries by encouraging active participation in the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council process, diligently using all resources: air, water, energy and seafood to the fullest extent possible with a minimum of waste. These principles honor the corporate commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability by placing an emphasis on resource and water conservation, using integrated management principals, providing safe and fair working conditions for employees.
UniSea, Inc. operates its manufacturing facilities in a manner which reduces the environmental impact of the facilities and their operations. This includes increasing the use of recycled process water, minimizing the generation of solid waste to landfills while maximizing the use of solid waste for recycling, investing in new technology to reduce energy usage, utilizing new packaging technologies to reduce source materials and improve shipping logistics, and measuring the results of environmental performance on a bi-annual basis. Throughout its operations UniSea, Inc. is committed to continuous improvement and to lead the way in compliance with environmental Federal and State regulatory requirements.