Fishing industry gets behind one of its own
As a swimming commercial fisherman, Petersburg's Derek Gibb has been spending more time in the water training than he does in a boat pulling fish out of the ocean.
But that hasn't stopped the Alaska salmon fleet from backing Gibb, who is in Long Beach, Calif., this week competing in the USA Swimming Olympic Trials.
Melissa Thorsen-Broschat, who owns Highliner Coffee Co. in Sitka and has a son who plays basketball at Sitka High School and a daughter who swims for the Baranof Barracudas, has been helping introduce Gibb to representatives of several fishing groups who decided to sponsor Gibb.
When he's not training, Gibb has worked as a commercial fisherman on salmon seine boats and Dungeness crab boats out of Petersburg.
Thorsen-Broschat, who grew up in a fishing family from Petersburg, said she flew Gibb to Juneau from Alabama in April so he could meet representatives of United Fishermen of Alaska and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Gibb then went to Sitka to meet representatives of the Seafood Producers Cooperative, and he went to Petersburg where the Viking Swim Club raised $4,300 for him during a raffle after Gibb gave a clinic.
Thorsen-Broschat also introduced Gibb to Seattle's Bob Thorstenson Sr., who runs the group Fishing for the Future and whose daughter, Tani Stenfjord, is a nationally ranked masters swimmer from Petersburg. Icicle Seafoods and Coastal Cold Storage of Petersburg also have sponsored Gibb.
"The fleet's getting behind the kid. It's pretty neat," Thorsen-Broschat said. "Besides being a commercial fisherman, he's such a presence. He's great for marketing. Derek Gibb is perfect for these groups. At 6-foot-9, the kid's a fish. It's important to support Petersburg and wild salmon over farmed."
"It's taken the burden off my finances so I can concentrate on my swimming," Gibb said.