Is it possible to enjoy truly fresh Hawaiian yellowfin tuna at a restaurant in New Orleans? Or wild Bristol Bay sockeye salmon at a brewery in Sandpoint, Idaho?
Fishermen working the waters of Hawai’i and Alaska say, yes, the best Pacific seafood can be savored thousands of miles from the ocean. The catch? The fish must come from a high-quality source and be handled with care — and the shipping must be fast and reliable.
“Because of air cargo, you can have some of the freshest poke in Montana and Salt Lake City,” said Josh Schade, a third-generation fisherman based in O’ahu and owner of Ahi Assassins, which uses Alaska and Hawaiian Air Cargo to sell yellowfin ahi, bigeye ahi tuna and other fish direct to markets and restaurants in the U.S. and Japan.
“There’s a common misconception that seafood available inland is somehow second-tier,” said Kara Berlin, who owns Thunder’s Catch with her husband, Taran White, who has fished Alaska’s Bristol Bay since he was a child. “With Alaska Air Cargo, we can share our wild salmon inland and all over the country while preserving that same just-caught freshness.”
Schade, Berlin and White are among hundreds of Pacific Ocean fishermen who rely on our cargo services to sell their catch directly to consumers, restaurants and markets across the country and around the world. Building on our decades of experience shipping high-quality fish harvested in our home states, our teams move millions of pounds of seafood throughout our network each year and take pride in helping fishing families grow their businesses.
Creating value-added products
Thunder’s Catch was born on the back deck of White and Berlin’s boat 10 years ago when the couple found themselves cleaning 1,000 pounds of fresh salmon that their processor wouldn’t take because its plant was at capacity. They rushed boxes of fish to King Salmon (AKN) just in time to make the last Alaska Air Cargo flight out. “I don’t know what we would have done without Alaska Air Cargo that night,” Berlin said. “They were so gracious to get all this fish loaded and on its way.”
Berlin and White realized they could make the most of their catch by smoking the salmon and incorporating it into longer-lasting products like chowder, creating a new revenue stream. Now, the Thunder’s Catch product line includes salmon fillets and several different styles of smoked salmon, as well as soups and a smoked salmon spread.
And while their fillets are flash-frozen and shipped via barge to their warehouse and smokehouse, Thunder’s Catch relies on Alaska Air Cargo to move their products from Seattle (SEA) to their partners in Anchorage (ANC) and Portland (PDX), where many of their products are made. Then Alaska Air Cargo flies the finished products to Spokane (GEG), where White and Berlin fulfill orders for restaurants and stores in Idaho, Montana, Washington state and as far east as St. Louis (STL).
“The salmon goes from our deck to your dish, but Alaska Air Cargo is among the important folks who help it along the way.” — Kara Berlin
Discovering new markets
Schade started out selling his fresh-caught fish as poke through his popular Honolulu shop, Ahi Assassins. After he closed the shop during the pandemic, he realized that many of his customers had opened their own markets and restaurants. He began building his client list to sell his fish across the U.S. and in Tokyo (HND), shipping through Hawaiian Air Cargo. “You’ve got to get it there fast and fresh,” Schade said. “There’s a difference between fisherman fresh and fish-market fresh.”
The combination of the Alaska and Hawaiian Air Cargo networks allowed Schade to expand his customer base. “Alaska Air Cargo flies to more airports and has more flights per day,” he said, pointing out that he added clients in cities like New Orleans (MSY) because he can seamlessly connect through Seattle. “More destinations mean more markets.”
Sustainable for the long haul
Schade encourages clients to purchase a whole fish, and he’ll often accompany the fish direct from the boat onto the same flight so he can show first-time buyers how to use every part of a 150-pound tuna. It’s a level of customer service and care for the fish that he learned from his uncle, Bob Fram, who was the state’s fishing exporter of the year for more than a decade, and Schade is proud to carry on the family tradition.
His goal is to have a destination in mind for every fish he catches. “My grandpa’s way was to catch it first, and then to figure out how to sell it,” he said. “We want to have a home for the fish before we catch it.”
“We try to be sustainable in the size we take, the amount we take, and making sure we have a use for it.” — Josh Schade
Thunder’s Catch also strives to make the best use of every part of the salmon they catch — even turning leftover trimmings into treats for pets. “We try to have as little waste from the fish as possible,” Berlin said. “When you witness Bristol Bay and the salmon run is still so healthy and thriving, it’s incredible. We have to honor that.”
As companies like Thunder’s Catch and Ahi Assassins grow their businesses, they learn from others in the fishing community about new ways to use cargo services to reach customers. Berlin sees some fishermen finding success by selling at farmers markets and through buying clubs. “The air-cargo services give many of us a cost-effective way to share our catch with other small businesses and consumers, so we can offer this amazing product to communities near and far without exorbitant cost attached when it gets to the customer’s plate,” she said.
Schade values the camaraderie within the fishing community, and he is generous to share his own knowledge, sometimes hosting Alaska fishermen visiting the Hawaiian Islands to connect expertise across the ocean. “We’re all fishermen and wherever we are, we can relate,” he said. “It’s a type of insanity we share. Maybe I didn’t catch anything yesterday or the day before, but I’ll still go out again tomorrow.”
Learn more and purchase direct: Ahi Assassins | Thunder’s Catch
Alaska and Hawaiian Air Cargo: Connections to the world
Together, Alaska and Hawaiian Air Cargo reach 130-plus cargo destinations around the world — including new daily nonstop service between Seattle and Tokyo Narita (NRT). Nonstop service between Seattle and Seoul Incheon (ICN) starts September 12, 2025, and seasonal service between Honolulu and Auckland (AKL) returns in November.
With more than 90 years of experience carrying vital shipments to remote communities, our air cargo teams share deep connections to the places where we live, work and fly.
Alaska Air Cargo | Hawaiian Air Cargo
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