FEATURES / YOUNGBLOODS
THE BATTLE FOR BETTER QUALITY BY MARIE ROSE
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PILOTHOUSE GUIDE / JULY 2019
Shoreline Wild Salmon photoS
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could smell fish before he even threw me his bow line, which was thoroughly stained with blood and an apparent magnet for the guts that crawled back and forth across the deck of his old wooden boat. Our manager looked at him sternly and signaled him toward her after we’d begun off-loading his fish. It wasn’t the first time we had to address the quality of his fish; but grudgingly, we bought it. Again. Working underneath the umbrella of an enormous fish-buying operation, we didn’t really have the authority to turn boats away, unless they posed a threat to us as a crew. I come from a long line of farmers and woodworkers in the Midwest. Fishing was a new gig for me, but I was immediately attracted to the troll fleet. I imagined trollers being as meticulous with their fish as my grandfathers must have been with their crafts, taking the long route for the absolute best-quality product. When I told my dad about a friend of mine who was building his cabin with only a hammer and nails, he responded, “That’s how your grandfather would have done it.” And while I only knew my grandfather for a short stint of my childhood, I like to think he was admired for his integrity the same way I value fishermen whose fish look as if they are still swimming as they pour onto our metal tray. Wild salmon are the reason I moved to Alaska. I had never lived somewhere with a resource that builds such a universal connection between neighbors the way fishing seems to. It is invaluable to have a resource that fills our chest freezers and bellies year-round; a true investment for our present and future health and well-being. I often wonder if those who were born and raised with salmon swimming in their backyard realize just how magical it is to live here. Despite my love for this state, as well as the fishing culture that is slowly weaving itself into my routine, there are some things I wish I could un-see. Like any industry, the fishing world has its shadows. And if you weren’t born into
Author Marie Rose is focused on ways to improve quality in Alaska’s troll fleet with careful, consistent handling.
the industry, or haven’t been a part of it long enough to see the biggest ups and downs of the small fishing towns where everyone grows old (or apart) together, it is hard to feel as if you can even have a voice on issues that are obvious but really only whispered. Having off-loaded fish from dozens of boats in the fleet, I learned quickly the extent to which levels of quality vary among fishermen. Sure, there are some things that are out of our control: scars left from battles before us, and the occasional race with hungry predators that leave half-eaten fish dragging at the end of the line. These instances aside though, the quality of a salmon from the point of being pulled from the water to the moment it is off-loaded and sold is entirely at the hands of fishermen. I remember shaking my head in disappointment as my orange rubber gloves glazed across dozens of salmon that had