Sarah O'Neill
Commercial Fisherman & Family Partner
Sarah is a second-generation Bristol Bay setnetter who grew up on the family's fishing sites and now holds her own permit.
Sarah fishes her own Bristol Bay set gillnet permit and represents the second generation of this family on the water. She grew up at fish camp, learned the tides before she could drive, and has cooked more sockeye in a season than most people eat in a lifetime.
She carries the family's recipes and the practical knowledge that comes from cooking your own catch every night of the summer: how to get the skin crisp, how to keep a lean fillet from drying out, what to do with the trim. Much of Popsie's recipe writing comes out of Sarah's kitchen.
This is not a marketing badge. Under Alaska law, a limited entry permit cannot be owned by a company — only by an individual. The permit holder must be physically on the fishing grounds while fishing, and only the permit holder can deliver and sell the catch. Every delivery is run through the permit card and recorded on a state fish ticket with the species, weight, area, date and permit holder.
It is the reason a venture-funded corporation literally cannot be what we are. Check it yourself: at cfec.state.ak.us/plook, enter Serial 60039 and Fishery S04T (zero, not the letter O), then click Find.
What Sarah knows
- ▸Cooking wild sockeye and other Alaskan species
- ▸Family recipes and fish-camp traditions
- ▸Three generations of Bristol Bay heritage
- ▸Getting the most out of every part of the fish
Meet the rest of the family
Popsie is one family with four permits. The whole story is on our About page.