f you like food (and wine) and you’re a Food & Wine Magazine reader, then you most likely saw a recent short piece about the forecasted abundance of wild salmon coming out of Alaska this year. The second I saw the title I had a familiar sense of dread (Why Alaska will have a Record Salmon Harvest Whether it Wants one or not) which was ultimately confirmed. I’m not talking about the main point of this article, which briefly explains salmon management, but about the way this article leaves people feeling like you could walk into your local grocery store and find some Copper River sockeye fillets on special for .99 a pound. “Finally!” the comments read, “I’m so sick of paying $39 a pound for Copper River kings!”

Let’s put this article into some context. Copper River opened a few weeks ago. The Alaska Department of fish and game is projecting a harvest of 6,000 Kings.  That’s not a typo. Of the one billion salmon that’s projected to come out of the state, a mere 6,000 of them will be Copper River Kings. Don’t expect to see any discounts there. 

Notice how we’re indicating both region and species when we talk about Alaska salmon? Because you need to. Referring to all salmon harvested in Alaska as “Alaska Salmon” is about as useful as writing an article about California Wine and only using the term “wine” when talking about price. No mention of different grape types, wine growers, wine producers. Simply lumping all wine together in one category. People who read Food & Wine magazine are certainly more discriminating than that. Do you drink wine? No!  In fact, you don’t even drink Red Wine. You drink Zinfandel, preferably from California, preferably from Dry Creek Vineyard’s 2012 harvest.

Same story with Alaska salmon. Dozens of different regions, gear types, production methods - each yielding a different type of end product. You want a huge troll caught spring King harvested by a hand troller off Yakobi Island, pressure bled and delivered within 24 hours of harvest? You want set net caught sockeye from a third generation fishing family from the Cut Bank in Naknek? What about some smoked Yukon River Chum Salmon or steaks from a big fat fall coho from Prince William Sound? It’s not as easy as just saying “Alaska Salmon”.

Yes, Alaska is predicted to have a record breaking season when ALL the salmon from ALL the regions harvested in every manner is all lumped together. But that’s the problem. The vast majority of the predicted state-wide run is pink salmon. In 2013, over 80% of the salmon harvested in Alaska was pink salmon. Pink salmon is a solid fish best used for commodity type products. It’s the salmon equivalent of a generic canned tuna. Putting a FAS troll caught king or coho Salmon from Southeast in the same bucket as those fish - not fair to the producers or the consumers.  

Huge runs can equal overloaded fishermen and processors and result in a poorly handled product. Not always, but if infrastructure isn’t in place to deal with the increased run size, then quality will suffer. It’s maybe hard to imagine what the logistics are like up in Bristol Bay, but processors can’t afford to be wrong - meaning they aren’t going to ship up extra people and equipment at huge expense to handle more fish, and then have the run not reach maximum forecast numbers. Economics rules and companies are trying to make as much money as possible - running things close to the bone. Fish just gets pushed through faster (or sits on boats waiting to be offloaded) and every step of the way quality is degrading.  

As you can infer, the highest quality salmon comes from the lowest volume fisheries. For instance, David and I can catch, clean and freeze about 150 high-quality coho a day. Compare that to a seiner working near us and pouring 30,000 unprocessed pink salmon a day into their hold. Our freezer can only handle so many fish at a time before we start to raise our temperature past an acceptable level. Even if we were in the middle of a “huge run” we cannot bring more fish on board the boat and still produce a quality product. It’s just a matter of quantity vs. quality. That quality is what you’re paying for.

Are you still with me? I’m going to rant on a bit more here. There are over 300 million people living in the US. Let’s knock it down to 200 million who would answer YES to a question on a survey that asked “do you like seafood”. If we use industry standard yield numbers to adjust the predicted “1 billion pound salmon harvest” we come up with 450 million pounds of “edible” salmon. That’s only 2.25 lb. of salmon per person this coming year. I eat that much salmon in a week!  If you ate one meal that featured a 6 oz. piece of salmon each month you’d eat 4.5 pounds of salmon in a year. All of a sudden a record breaking run isn’t even enough!

Think about other foods you splurge on once a month. Maybe a chunk of artisinal slab bacon (no nitrates added) from some Gloucestershire Old Spots? Dry Aged Bone-in Rib Eye from a Grass Fed Angus? Calculate the per pound price of your favorite Emmentaler or wild Hen-of-the-Woods mushrooms.

If you're on a budget you can find good quality canned Alaska salmon in almost any grocery store. It’s usually the most affordable way to get a healthy fish into your weekly routine. Mix it with cooked potatoes and onions and have a delicious hash for breakfast. Fold it into a potato chowder for an easy and satisfying soup. Canned salmon is the perfect end use of a huge run. The fish can be quickly and affordably processed into something with a long shelf life that can sell at an affordable price. You’ll find pinks, chums and sockeyes in cans - all harvested from abundant runs.  If you add the word “canned” into the Food & Wine article, you’re getting a more accurate picture of the result of a record breaking salmon season in Alaska. 

“All of this, though, is good news for (canned) salmon eaters. The huge harvest could mean more wild (canned) salmon at lower prices.”

Should there be even more cost-effective canned salmon on the market this coming year? You betcha. However, if you’re looking for high-quality fish from independent small fishermen, then don’t expect to see prices plummeting.  Or, start imagining a world where wild salmon from Alaska is just another commodity, with marginal quality and mysterious provenance.  

Memorial Day weekend in Sitka means a lot of action on the docks. Fishermen working on projects or heading out in search of king salmon, ling cod, halibut and black cod. The annual Sitka Salmon Derby kicking off. And a handful of young men and women stopping by the boat in search of work.

I haven’t been at this fishing thing that long, but I have learned a lot. First impressions matter. One thing I’ve noticed is that when people stop by the boat and I’m on deck working on a project they’ll ask me if the Captain is around. I usually just point them his way but sometimes I feel like saying, “I’m the Captain!” So, my first bit of advice is don’t assume a woman working on the boat isn’t the captain. I’ve also started wearing a captain’s hat.  

Our actual Captain, David, with his 37+ years of all manner of commercial fishing experience offered a lot of useful advice for this post, so without further ado here’s our Long Weekend List of Ways to Maybe Land a Rockin’ Commercial Fishing Job in Alaska!

1. If you don’t have any experience, get some before you come to Alaska. And it doesn’t have to be on a fishing boat. Woodworking, refrigeration, welding, electrical wiring, cooking, carpentry - these all are skills that can come in handy.  
2. Get out on the Water - another thing you want to have a handle on before you get on a boat is if you have issues with sea sickness. I do. I have spent plenty of time barfing over the rail which in itself isn’t fun but worse still if you’re supposed to be working. I was a useless member of an already small crew fishing halibut one summer, comatose in the bunk when I was needed on deck. We actually had to go back to town. That was an important lesson. It’s okay if you get sea sick, but you have got to deal with it. I take an over-the-counter meclizine tab every night before bed, some people get scopolamine patches - just make sure you’re covered in advance. If you’re not sure, assume you do and just take the dramamine (the night before which will help you be less drowsy) 
3. Learn some basic knots. At the very least be comfortable with a bowline, a clove hitch and a square knot. With your eyes closed. Now, if you can spice line? You’re moving to the front of the class.  
4. Gather up some basic gear (and put it in a duffle bag. David says a suitcase is “bad luck” it’s also cumbersome, the main reason you don’t want to drag it around). You’re going to need Xtratufs, Grundens rain gear, rubber gloves, a Victorinox knife in a sheath (on a knife belt) and some warm clothes (no cotton), especially good socks. Don’t overpack but don’t underpack. Stay organized. Bring a book, foot powder and an extra pair of sunglasses.  
5. Okay, think you’re ready to come to Alaska? Remember that it’s expensive up here. It’s also busy in the summer so have a plan for a place to stay and plenty of money to take care of yourself.  
6. Now you’re here. If you don’t have any contacts and are planning to walk the docks in search of work, our advice is to come ready to start. If you see someone sanding, offer to finish the job (a great chance to show that you’re comfortable with power tools).  Bag of garbage on the deck? Take it up to the dumpster. Volunteer to bait hooks, paint, scrub or join in to whatever action is happening. 
7. If you are going to hand out a resume make it short and relevant. List your applicable experience. For instance, David wants to know “when was the last time you pulled an all-nighter with your buddy re-building your transmission?”  Do you weld? Work on Fiberglass? Have experience with hydraulics?  List it there. Me? I want to laugh and remember you. I’d love a resume wrapped around a snickers bar. Maybe a recipe on the back for your favorite chili (oh, you don’t know how to cook? You better learn.)
8. Speaking of cooking - let’s talk a little more about cooking. Be a good cook, a fast cook and don’t skimp on the portions!  On the other side of the table, don’t be a picky eater. 
9. Don’t have a hangover, don’t look at your phone and listen more than you talk.

I checked in with Lydia, a greenhorn who came to Sitka this year in search of work on a boat (and is currently working) to see what advice she had. 

“Network like crazy, be outgoing and talk to people. You have to be outgoing and a little vulnerable. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t have any experience, but be willing to work.” 

Lydia also made that cool sign pictured above before she got here, planning to hang it around the harbors, at the gear shop, etc.  And she laminated it!  It looks good, and will last. Market yourself.

Thanks Lydia!  

What’s your story? Are you a deckhand who landed a sweet job in Alaska? Let us know how you did it. Are you a captain with advice you’d like to share? Post it here.

We’ve been back up in Sitka for a week now, and it hasn’t rained once! That must be some kind of weather record breaker. We’ve almost got our new cabin door installed, and the wheel house has been sanded and painted. The rails have been sanded and await staining today.

It’s like old home week here in the harbor; almost impossible to walk from the boat to the ramp without one or two conversations. That means every trip to Murray’s takes 45 minutes, and believe me we are going there 3, 4 times a day! We’re thankful for our creative and clever fellow fishermen - we couldn’t have managed the door installation without Phil off the Cygnet II!

It got quiet around here for a few days as some of our friends headed out to the Fairweather Grounds to fish for Ling Cod. They are mostly back, and the dock is hopping. We wake to the sound of sanders almost every morning. Sitka is hopping too, with cruise ships enjoying the wonderful weather, raucous ravens narrating their every move. There are a few new restaurants, most notably a food truck featuring LOCAL SEAFOOD! We haven’t eaten there yet, but we’ll let you know what we find. The menu looks great, and there’s generally a group lingering around. 

In other news, the Harbor now has WiFi!  We'll be working hard to keep you in the know all season. Don't forget you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well!  

Let us know if you’re visiting Southeast Alaska this summer.