Verify Our Alaska Fishing Permits
Every fish we sell is caught by a named member of our family — each one personally holding a State of Alaska commercial fishing permit you can look up yourself in a public government database. Here is how to verify it.
Why this is proof, not a marketing claim
Alaska's salmon fisheries are protected by a law most seafood companies would rather you didn't know about. Under the state's Limited Entry Act, a commercial salmon permit can only be held by an individual person — never by a corporation. The rules are the trust story:
- A company cannot own a permit. Only a person can. A venture-funded seafood corporation is legally barred from holding one.
- One person, one permit. An individual may fish only their own permit.
- The permit holder must be on the water. They have to be physically present on the fishing grounds while fishing.
- Only the permit holder can sell the catch. Every landing runs through the permit card, so the chain from permit → catch → sale is recorded by the state.
So when we say our salmon is caught by our family, it isn't a story — it's a state record. Here are our permits.
Our family's Bristol Bay setnet permits
| Fisherman | Role | CFEC Permit (Bristol Bay setnet, SO4T) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Neal | Founder & Commercial Fisherman (since 1987) | SO4T 60274 L |
Profile |
| Gwen Neal | Co-Founder & Commercial Fisherman | SO4T 60302 A |
Profile |
| Sarah O'Neill | Commercial Fisherman & Family Partner | SO4T 60377 W |
Profile |
| Owen Olsson-O'Neill | Commercial Fisherman & Family Partner | SO4T 60039 O |
Profile |
How to verify a permit yourself
- Go to the State of Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC) permit lookup: cfec.state.ak.us/plook.
- Search by permit number (e.g.
SO4T 60274) or by last name. - You'll see the permit's fishery designation — SO4T = Bristol Bay set gillnet — confirming a real, current Alaska commercial salmon permit held by that individual.
CFEC is an independent State of Alaska government body — not us. That's the whole point: the proof lives on a government server we don't control.