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There are many ways to catch a fish. Throughout the
year, Kachemak Bay's commercial fishermen troll, seine,
drift, long line, pot fish, and trawl Alaskan waters.
Pots splash down, reels squeal, corks bobble along
the shores.
Fishermen greet each other on docks, throw off lines,
point bows seaward and plunge their hands into cold
water and familiar work. In the winter, some scrape
the treachery of ice from their decks. In spring,
skiffs are launched off gravel and mud and sand. Acres
of fishnet are mended. Engines tuned. Hooks sharpened,
then baited.
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Creek
Robber
Marian Beck |
Commercial fishing has long been an economic mainstay in
Kachemak Bay communities. Charter, sport, personal use,
and subsistence fishing stock local freezers as well. For
many families, seasonal income and the summer catch have
sustained them through long winters.
A way of life is shifting. Salmon fishermen are threatened
by competitive prices from the farmed salmon industry. Diminishing
stocks of shrimp and crab have shut down commercial, subsistence,
and sport harvests within Kachemak Bay. Then add divisive
fish politics and consolidation of the fisheries into fewer
boats and fewer fishermen. Many local fishermen are asking
- How much longer can I afford to fish? Who would I be,
if not a fisherman? As a result some commercial fishermen
have turned to charter fishing for an income.
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