A Southeast Alaska seafood processor has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Wrangell Seafoods, which operates a plant in Wrangell, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Anchorage and acknowledged owing millions of dollars.

Company president Douglas Roberts signed the documents but did not respond to phone calls seeking comment by the Alaska Journal of Commerce.

The processor was a major employer in Wrangell, hiring up to 130 people at the peak of the season and buying from 200 fishing vessels.

An official with the city of Wrangell said two bad fishing seasons likely were a major part of the problem. The city is among dozens of creditors.

The Bankruptcy Court is expected to schedule hearings after required paperwork is filed before the end of January.

Wrangell area fishermen expected to catch many chum salmon over the past two fishing seasons at nearby Anita Bay but the fish did not turn up, said Wrangell City Manager Bob Prunella. Harvests of pink salmon also have been poor for two years, he said.

The Wrangell plant also processes halibut, herring, lingcod, rockfish, shrimp, prawns and sea cucumber.

Wrangell Seafoods began operations in 1956 as a partnership known as Harbor Seafoods Inc. The company focused on expansion into several areas of seafood processing.

Alaska Pulp Corp. purchased the firm in 1974 and sold it a decade later to J.S. McMillian Fisheries Ltd., which gave it the name Wrangell Fisheries Inc.

By 1998, the owners wanted to divest their interest due to financial restructuring, according to the company's Web site.

The city of Wrangell purchased assets of the company in June 1998 and leased them to a newly formed firm, Wrangell Seafoods Inc.

According to the company Web site, there were roughly 21 shareholders, including seafood industry participants, fishermen, residents and business owners. Their stated goal was to save the last major seafood producer in Wrangell.

The city solicited proposals for the sale of the cannery and cold storage. In 2000, Wrangell Seafoods entered into a sales agreement with the city, with financing terms of 30 years at 4 percent interest.

Major creditors are listed in bankruptcy documents. They include Bahrt and Associates, Portland, Ore.; Wyatt Refrigeration, Edmonds, Wash.; Lynden Transport Inc., Wrangell; the Seattle Tacoma Box Co., Anchorage; the city of Wrangell; Liberty Northwest Workman's Comp, Portland, Ore.; Alaska Marine Lines, Seattle; and Bering Pacific Seafoods, Juneau.