Bankruptcy for Adak Fisheries

The end could be near for Adak Fisheries LLC, a little seafood processor with a hugely tumultuous history.

The company, which runs a plant for processing cod and other fish on distant Adak Island in the Aleutians, on Sept. 11 filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Anchorage.

You'll recall we touched on the troubles of Adak Fisheries only recently with a post about the company's battle with the local electric power utility.

According to its bankruptcy petition, Adak Fisheries has assets of $10 million to $50 million, with liabilities estimated in the same range.

Some top creditors include Drevik International AS of Norway, $3.8 million; Aleut Enterprise LLC of Anchorage, $1.3 million; Muir Milach Management LLC of Mercer Island, Wash., $402,000; TDX Adak Generating LLC of Anchorage, $268,000; Trident Seafoods Corp. of Seattle, $255,000; and the IRS, $231,000.

At least one creditor is in no mood to allow Adak Fisheries to reorganize its business.

Independence Bank, which says it loaned Adak Fisheries and founder Kjetil Solberg $4.35 million in 2007, yesterday filed to convert the case from Chapter 11 to a Chapter 7 liquidation.

Independence says it "has a first position security interest in essentially all of Adak's assets."

I don't have time at the moment to recount the colorful history — the failed partnerships and political exploits — of Adak Fisheries and Mr. Solberg.

But I'll say this: Wonder what becomes of the fledgling town of Adak? The lone fish plant was a pillar of the economy out there and a major part of plans to turn the former military outpost into a viable civilian fishing town.