The Popsie Fish Company Story
Our story began in 1987 with the purchase of a set net fishing site 10 miles north of the Yup’ik village of Egegik on the eastern shores of Bristol Bay in the Bering Sea.
Tony and Gwen Neal were raising their three children in the small coastal community of Homer, Alaska on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula and wished to involve their family in a new adventure involving a uniquely Alaskan work opportunity. Â
With that, a fishing legacy was born, named in honor of Tony’s father, affectionately known by the kids as “Popsie”. Summers were spent at this remote fish camp, commercial fishing for Sockeye salmon. Tony and Gwen’s children have grown and now have children of their own. Three generations of fishers return each summer to work and fish together to provide your family with the best wild-caught Alaskan seafood on the market…from our family to yours.
Customers love that we are a family-owned business with a unique story that offers a wide variety of fresh and frozen seafood. We are dedicated to providing customers with high-quality seafood products, including wild-caught salmon, Halibut, Sablefish (Black Cod), and Pacific Cod.
The Popsie Fish Company is committed to sustainability and responsible fishing practices. We source our seafood from sustainable fisheries, working closely with local fishermen to ensure that its products are of the highest quality.
We also work to reduce our environmental impact by minimizing waste, conserving energy and water, and promoting responsible fishing methods.
The Popsie Fish Company’s commitment to quality and sustainability has earned it a loyal customer base. We also work with restaurants, chefs, and caterers to provide them with fresh, sustainable seafood. If you'd like Popsie fish at your local grocery store, CSA, or restaurant, please let us know.
Please watch our video to find out more about our fishing practices out in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
The Popsie Fish Company Story
Our story began in 1987 with the purchase of a set net fishing site 10 miles north of the Yup’ik village of Egegik on the eastern shores of Bristol Bay in the Bering Sea.
Tony and Gwen Neal were raising their three children in the small coastal community of Homer, Alaska on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula and wished to involve their family in a new adventure involving a uniquely Alaskan work opportunity. Â
With that, a fishing legacy was born, named in honor of Tony’s father, affectionately known by the kids as “Popsie”. Summers were spent at this remote fish camp, commercial fishing for Sockeye salmon. Tony and Gwen’s children have grown and now have children of their own. Three generations of fishers return each summer to work and fish together to provide your family with the best wild-caught Alaskan seafood on the market…from our family to yours.
Customers love that we are a family-owned business that offers a wide variety of fresh and frozen seafood. We are dedicated to providing customers with high-quality seafood products, including wild-caught salmon, Halibut, Sablefish (Black Cod), and Pacific Cod.
The Popsie Fish Company is committed to sustainability and responsible fishing practices. We source our seafood from sustainable fisheries, working closely with local fishermen to ensure that its products are of the highest quality.
We also work to reduce our environmental impact by minimizing waste, conserving energy and water, and promoting responsible fishing methods.
The Popsie Fish Company’s commitment to quality and sustainability has earned it a loyal customer base. We also work with restaurants, chefs, and caterers to provide them with fresh, sustainable seafood. If you'd like Popsie fish at your local grocery store, CSA, or restaurant, please let us know.
Please watch our video to find out more about our fishing practices out in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
Team Popsie
Tony Neal
Fisher
Tony is living his dream surrounded by family. Tony works full time all year selling the Popsie brand as far away as London and Brussels. At fish camp his specialty is hauling thousands of pounds of catch to our processor and weighing it in, a combination of driving skill and good math. In camp, Tony is also the master mechanic.
Gwen Neal
President
Gwen pulls a full crew spot as a Salmon Permit holder for 33 years (we own our licenses.) Gwen fishes hard but her primary camp duty is a big one. She cooks for the crew and is master over food and stores. Her work begins in February when she buys all the summer’s food, and goes into March when she loads it on the northbound barge out of Seattle. In May, she unloads that barge in Bristol Bay just in time for the hard-eating crew to arrive in June.
Sarah O'Neill
Force of Nature, Crew Boss
Sarah is deck boss and crew trainer and the hardest working fisher you could meet. She’ll outfish anyone on the team, with a smile on her face. Sarah is the master in keeping our crew going when they think they will just collapse if they have to endure one more wave in their face. Daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, … and Captain: That’s Sarah. Sarah, in Jr High, told Tony “you’ve ruined my life making me commercial fish all summer! When I turn 18 I’ll never touch another fish”. Haha, it looks like Sarah hasn’t turned 18 yet, 33 years waiting for that elusive birthday!
Siri Neal
Fisher and Sales
Son Siri was 7 when he started fishing. Siri has hands of steel and never tires. He’s a fishing captain’s dream crew member. At 3 AM, when it’s blowing 30 knots and raining sideways, Siri is first on the nets without a peep of complaint, and the last one in. Siri is a Popsie full-timer too as well as a crack salesman. As the Popsie distributor in Clearwater, Florida, Siri provides Popsie seafood to the best venues across Florida.
Gwenyth Mistretta
Project Manager & Crew Boss
Granddaughter Gwenyth has 8 years of fishing under her belt and she’s only 22. She’s a smart one too, graduated from University of Oregon with her BS. Gwen is always thinking of the better way to do something and is very handy with the tools around camp and in the mechanic shop with Tony. She’s now working toward going to Law School and her goal is to succeed “the other Gwen” as president of The Popsie Fish Company.
Chris Olsson-O'Neill
Fisher and Sales
Chris is “Mr. Idea” - with a special talent as our equipment buyer, sniffing out great buys on “Bikes”, ATV’s, and other great gadgets to make our fishing life easier. Chris is proud of his great sport fishing prowess.
Owen Olsson-O'Neill
Fisher
Grandson Owen is 15 and learning more each year. He delivers full loads of fish at un-heard of speeds with Tony as his brakeman. He set a record, hauling a 2000 pound delivery on his Honda 300. Called "bikes" by the fishers, Owen’s job is “bike wrangler” and he keeps them fueled, trailers connected, and ready to work. It’s no secret he likes to hot rod the bikes when he gets the chance, a kid’s dream job.
Amy Dunnavant
Boise Operations Manager
Amy's been in the Popsie family since she was 15 years old, working the net at 3AM and chatting along like only Amy can do, good spirits and no complaining. Amy's been working in and around Alaska commercial fishing ever since. A stint loading containers of fish in Dutch Harbor was followed by crewing a halibut long-liner out of Dutch, truly "The Deadliest Catch", and that was followed by long lining again, but in the waters of southeast Alaska, out of Sitka. Now she's a Popsie Port Captain, working the Boise plant and selling our products across the country.
Sanjay Neal
Fisher in Training
Grandson Sanjay is in training to be just like his dad.  At 5 years old, he’s already working on hands of steel with good strong grip and is practicing his bike driving. He’s our #1 draft pick. Tony is working to get Owen to cool his jets driving before starting Sanjay on the bikes at fish camp, two grandsons on bikes at once?? Whoa!
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