Our Team
Erica Smith
President
Erica was born and raised in the small fishing village of Woods Harbour, Nova Scotia. Erica's father, grandfather, and great grandfathers were all lobster fishermen. Erica grew up around the local fishing wharves, and she always remembers seeing her father off as he ventured out to sea for 15-20 days at a time on his fishing trips. Erica developed a love for the ocean at a young age. You could say the sea is a part of her blood.
After working in a management position for 11 years for a local saltfish manufacturer/exporter, Erica's passion grew for the industry. Her passion in the industry, mixed with her passion for business, lead her to starting her own lobster exporting company in 2015. Erica's company grew from under a million dollars in sales in the first year to a multi-million dollar exporting company, that exports world-wide to many different countries. FPAL has developed many suppliers throughout the province of Nova Scotia.
Without Erica's strong leadership and dedication to the company it wouldn't be where it is today. Also, Erica contributes a lot of the success to our partners, employees, and customers.
Natasha Brown
Sales / Logistics
Natasha is one of our newer additions to Fishermen's Premium. As our Office Manager, Natasha handles day to day activities including managing our social media accounts and facilitating our Air Cargo Security program. She has been working closely with the company President to develop new marketing strategies.
Prior to joining the Fishermen's Premium team, Natasha held management positions in other local plants. She holds a degree in Sociology and Anthropology. Natasha was raised on Cape Sable Island and after living in Halifax for four years she knew there was no place she would rather be.
Kayla Atkinson
Financial Officer
As our Financial Officer, Kayla oversees the accounting, financial reporting, internal auditing, and payroll at our facility. Kayla joined Fishermen’s Premium Atlantic Lobster Inc. in 2018, and works closely with the company President to ensure all customer needs are met.
Kayla holds a degree in Business Accounting, and prior to joining Fishermen’s Premium, she managed several small businesses locally.
In recent years, she has travelled abroad to Qingdao, China and Boston, USA for International seafood trade shows as a representative for our company.
As a local resident, Kayla comes from a seafood- harvesting family, and has grown up within the fishing communities of Sou’West Nova Scotia.