Ocean Beauty wins Philippines food aid contract

Ocean Beauty Seafoods has won a state contract to supply a large volume of canned Alaska pink salmon for disaster relief in the Philippines.

Ocean Beauty edged out three other processors — Icicle, Peter Pan and Trident — with a low bid of $246,758.

The state invited bids for a minimum of 6,048 cases of pink salmon, with each case containing two dozen 14.75-ounce cans.

The fish is going to Cebu, Philippines, where a devastating typhoon as well as a strong earthquake struck last year.

Alaska's salmon industry has a huge inventory of canned salmon onhand, thanks to last year's record pink salmon harvest.

The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is paying for the Philippines donation with "industry assessment funds," spokesman Tyson Fick says.