Once a seasonal fish camp used by the Unangax̂ people, Nelson Lagoon is now a permanent community with commercial fishing as its economic base. The lagoon was named in 1882 for Edward William Nelson of the U.S. Signal Corps, an explorer in the Yukon Delta region. “The Lagoon,” is located on the north side of the Alaska Peninsula, on a narrow sand spit. It is 580 miles southwest of Anchorage and 70 miles north of Cold Bay.
APICDA completed construction of a fish handling facility in Nelson Lagoon by matching a $2 million grant from the federal Economic Development Administration and plans continued to develop this facility. Other APICDA projects include a community dock, significant land improvements, a storage facility, boat yard, fuel subsidies, Fishermen’s Association grants, community greenhouse and tourism adventure sport fishing camps that employ residents.