Skipper agrees to hawk Global crab

Bellevue-based Global Fishing has sought out some unlikely promoters for its Russian crab: the Alaska skippers who gained fame in "Deadliest Catch," the hit reality series about crab fishing on the Discovery Channel.

Three skippers confirmed to The Seattle Times that they were contacted by Global over the summer.

Two said they rejected the offer to promote Russian crab. A third, Sig Hansen, skipper of the Puget Sound-based F/V Northwestern, agreed to the offer.

That crab is being sold in colorful 2-pound boxes in some Wal-Mart stores. The boxes feature a front picture of the Northwestern bucking rough seas and the signature of "Capt. Sig." On the back side, the crab is identified as a product of Russia packed in the United States.

Hansen, in a telephone interview Monday from his boat in the Bering Sea, said he hoped the endorsement would help overall marketing of all king-crab products, by spurring sales and driving up prices. He said other endorsements are in the works that would feature only Alaska products.

"Global is not the end-all and be-all, and they understand my position of how delicate this all is," Hansen said.

Hansen said his payment for the endorsements would be tied to sales, and he has not received any money yet. A portion of the sales will be donated to a fishermen's memorial fund, according to a sticker on a box of the crab that The Times purchased Monday at a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Federal Way.

In September, the Russian government arrested Global's chief executive officer, Arkadi Gontmakher, a Bellevue resident, and accused the company of a conspiracy to export illegally caught crab products to the United States.

Hansen said he was aware that Gontmakher had been arrested but was not aware of allegations that the company had imported poached product.

"Let's face it, in Russia, it's a different system," Hansen said. "He should be considered innocent until he's proven guilty."

Wal-Mart officials did not respond to several attempts at contact by The Times. Global declined to comment. Jonathan Hillstrand, owner of the F/V Time Bandit of Homer, Alaska, said he received numerous phone calls in the summer from Global, trying to persuade him to promote the Russian product.

"I turned them down. This is a fishery that has operated like the complete Wild West with blatant [conservation] violations," Hillstrand said.

Phil Harris, owner of the F/V Cornelia Marie of Kodiak, Alaska, also turned down the Global Fishing marketing pitch.

"This whole thing stinks to high heaven," said Harris. "We are madly trying to get consumers to buy American seafood."

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com