Sig Hansen

Sig began fishing at age 14. Sig often left school early for the summer to fish salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska on a salmon gillnetter. Once salmon season ended he would join the Northwestern to fish Blue and Red king crab in Saint Matthews Island and Nome. Occasionally, Sig had the opportunity to fish Mackerel and Cod in Norway during the summer.

After Sig graduated from high school, he began fishing year-round, spending on average 10 months per year in Alaska. At 22, Sig began relieving captains on the Northwestern. This job is known as a “relief skipper.” As one of the youngest captains in the fleet he knew he had to either show results or get replaced. Sig opted for results. By 24, Sig began running the Northwester full time. Over the years, the Northwestern has been a top producer repeatedly under Sig’s guidance. Sig doesn’t consider this his greatest accomplishment though. The fact that there have not been any major accidents onboard the Northwestern is by far his greatest accomplishment according to Sig.