Born and raised in a commercial fishing family, Rhonda began fishing at an early age. At 12 years old, she began commercial salmon fishing for her dad on his boat. She attended and graduated with a business degree and minor in international business from the University of Washington. She also spent time at Nanzen University in Nagoya, Japan where she was able to pick up some Japanese which came in handy while working in the Japanese seafood markets.

After her formal education she started to focus her attention on the family business, which at the time consisted of processing herring, salmon, black-cod, & halibut. It was during that time that she met her husband Jim, and they married in 1988. Since then Rhonda has been able to contribute her sales and marketing experience to the Kruzof production and ultimately to a fisherman whose goals were to foresee his product directly from catch to the consumer.

Jim was eleven years old when his family moved to Petersburg, Alaska. It wasn’t too long after the move that he began his career as a fisherman. At the age of twelve, Jim began working on a commercial fishing boat and by the age of nineteen, just out of high-school, he bought his first boat, the Swift II. Five years later came his second boat, the Argo. During this time and throughout the early 80’s, Jim would spend most of the summers long-lining and then go crabbing in the winters.

A major turning point came for Jim when he launched the first Kruzof in 1987, a long-liner vessel which processed the seafood on board. About ten years later came the new Kruzof which he currently operates outside of Seward. In August of 1988, Rhonda came into his life not only as a beloved wife but with a complimentary skill set that helped him reach his vision for the product he was catching. Jim also brought two young boys, Scott and Matthew into Rhonda’s life who she helped raise from the time they were 2 and 5.

To learn more about Jim and his story click on Meet the Captain link.

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