Business Profile

Title and company: Manufacturer, Alaska Wild Salmon

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Biographical Information: Stopha grew up in western New York farm country and came to Alaska when he was 19 to attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks. After college he did a stint in the Peace Corps, doing fisheries work in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He returned to Alaska and worked for the Department of Fish and Game, then went to Mississippi State University. After earning a graduate degree in fisheries he got a full-time job with Fish and Game in Kodiak. In 1995 he was transferred to Juneau, where he met and married Sara Hannan. Stopha now works for the McDowell Group research firm and started Alaska Wild Salmon a year ago.

Services: Using scraps of salmon meat left over after processors fillet fish and barley byproducts from Alaskan Brewery Co., Stopha cooks up salmon jerky dog treats. Already familiar with homebrewing beer and jerking salmon, Stopha developed the recipe over the winter, testing it on friends' dogs. Some cats like the treats too, but they are more finicky.

"We get a universal response from dogs because it's a stinky salmon stuff," said Hannan, who helps by putting labels on the plastic jars that package the treats. The dog treats are sold at 20 stores in Alaska and one in Ithaca, N.Y., from pet food stores to health food markets. The treats are made with wild Alaska salmon and don't contain additives.

"We're hoping that we can get one large-volume vendor that really kicks us up," Hannan said.

Stopha, who also is a troller, plans to start smoking and packaging his troll-caught coho in foil pouches.

Family: His wife, Sara Hannan, teaches social studies at Juneau-Douglas High School and helps with the business.

Quotable: "If you're a fisherman trying to produce the best product that you can, one of the ways is to directly sell to people, because then you know you're going to directly give it to the person who's going to eat them."

Contact information: In Juneau the dog treats are sold at Rainbow Foods, Wee Fishie Shop, the Alaska General Store, DIPAC, and Timberwolf, or call 463-3115.