Salmon Sisters make a positive impact addressing food insecurity in Alaska
Emma Teal Laukitis, ’18, and her sister Claire not only catch and sell Alaska’s most famous fish, they help feed hundreds of thousands Alaskans through their donations.
Everyone knows that Alaska, the last frontier, is a place of stunning beauty, spectacular scenery, the best fishing on the planet, and home to extraordinary wildlife. Unfortunately, the largest state in the union is also where hunger is a major, ongoing problem.
So a UW grad who lives in tiny Homer, Alaska—the halibut capital of the world—is joining her sister in doing what she can to address this challenging issue.
Emma Teal Laukitis (right) works with her sister, Claire Neaton (left), to supply those in need with fresh, sustainable seafood.
Emma Teal Laukitis, ’18, and her sister Claire Neaton are the co-founders, fisherwomen and siblings who run Salmon Sisters, a small, women-owned business that not only knows how to catch, procure and sell fish in a sustainably responsible manner. They also give a portion of their proceeds to support healthy salmon habitat and they run the “Give Fish Project,” donating wild Alaska salmon to the Food Bank of Alaska and local pantries.
The Give Fish Projects works like this: the Salmon Sisters provide wild-caught Alaska Salmon, often frozen or canned, to food banks and communities dealing with hunger. At least 1% of the company’s profit are dedicated to this endeavor; The Give Fish Project was founded on a simple idea: for every items purchased from Salmon Sisters, “we donate a can of healthy and delicious wild salmon,” according to its website.
This initiative serves nearly 100,000 Alaskans who face food insecurity, as the Salmon Sisters distribute their fish across their huge home state.
Laukitis’ and Neaton’s latest book, “Harvest & Heritage,” was nominated for the 2024 Best American Cookbook by the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
And that’s not all. Salmon Sisters works with other businesses (such as Kaladi Brothers, an Alaska-based coffee company, and Xtratuf, an Alaska-based maker of commercial-grade boots and apparel for Alaska’s fishing community) to raise additional funds and fish for donations.
To date, Salmon Sisters has donated more than 300,000 portions of nutritious, wild-caught Alaska salmon. According to the Salmon Sisters website, every dollar donated helps the food bank provide three meals to Alaskans statewide.
The Food Bank of Alaska is headquartered in Anchorage and works with nearly 200 partner organizations to distribute food across the massive state. “We see examples of people every day who are really trying their best and sometimes just need a little help” says Cara Durr, director of public engagement for the Food Bank of Alaska.
For the Salmon Sisters, who have been in business for more than 10 years, fishing has been their life. They were raised on a small island in the remote Aleutian Islands and have been fishing their entire lives, working on their family’s commercial fishing boat. Their young company has attracted wide acclaim (from Bon Appétit, Outside Magazine and no less than Martha Stewart) for the quality of the fish they sell, and Emma and Claire have published two books. They also sell fishing boots, apparel, other food items and items for the house.
Laukitis graduated from the UW with a Master of Fine Arts in design to apply to her work at Salmon Sisters. “Claire and I both have a strong work ethic but have opposite skill sets,” Laukitis told University of Washington Magazine in 2020. “My strengths are more creative and visual and Claire is all business.”
Meanwhile, the Salmon Sisters’ commitment to serving their community continues to help their fellow Alaskans, and will for as long as they are out on their boat reeling in the best salmon on the planet.
Photos courtesy of Salmon Sisters.