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  • 23 hours ago
The Viking Maid
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00:00:02OK, I got a coast report for you over, Kenny, just checked in on the battle right there at the
00:00:06coast, over.
00:00:08Does he need a tender?
00:00:11He had six fish in his first set, over. Six fish, two sockeyes, three dogs, one and a pig.
00:00:20What a bummer. Good side's coming. Good side will get there when it's over.
00:00:28Yeah, I know. That's what I looked at, the good tide. If you don't get the good tide, this helps
00:00:32me out there.
00:00:34So anyway, he's... Oh, I got a dog inside. Holy shit, it's a sockeye. I gotta curl him.
00:00:40Look at him go. He's got three dimes.
00:00:43Man, fish like your voice. You stay right there. Fish love your voice.
00:01:19You got to go this way, Mike. Let's go, Mike!
00:01:24I'm kinda, I guess, deckbar.
00:01:26It's a little bit more dangerous I guess because you're right next to the deck winch and lots of people
00:01:30get hurt doing that.
00:01:31But you just got to be careful. You got to be paying attention.
00:01:34That's the main part about fishing. You always got to be paying attention.
00:01:40Because, I mean, you could kill yourself doing this.
00:01:54We pull the net to the beach or we're doing open toes offshore. I just, I work together with the
00:02:00skipper and we try to corral the fish.
00:02:08This is actually my first year. Actually, this is my third trip out.
00:02:14So I'm at Greenhorn, as they like to call us.
00:02:26Yeah, I work at the cork and the web and I work at the toe line.
00:02:31The toe line is where we hook up the skiff so we don't grip. So we stay away from shore.
00:02:57It's a, it sounds real adventuresome to some of these young fellows, you know, until they come out and do
00:03:02it and find out it's actual work.
00:03:04Yeah. You know, and we haven't even begun the season, you know, it's not, it's not gotten crazy yet.
00:03:12When we start fishing two on, two off, or four on and one off, then it really gets to be
00:03:18a drag.
00:03:19I mean, it's a grind.
00:03:45Outro Music
00:04:33It looks just like a cancer.
00:04:35The flesh is completely falling away from itself.
00:04:39I had a case down there that was so bad that I cut one fillet off of the side of
00:04:45the fish,
00:04:45got halfway through the other side and held it up and the fillet completely peeled off the rest of the
00:04:51bone.
00:04:53According to the United States EPA guidelines,
00:04:57consumption of more than one serving of farmed salmon per month could pose unacceptable cancer risks.
00:05:05I manage a seafood department right now in a grocery store.
00:05:08The disgusting part of it is those fish are going to people at these high end restaurants,
00:05:13or any restaurant for that matter, and people are eating that and they're not aware of what they're eating.
00:05:21It's also hurting all the fishermen because these engineered fish are taking over the market.
00:05:30Everyone's buying them because they're so much cheaper, and it's a real problem.
00:05:36I'm afraid that it's going to take over and my way of life is going to go away.
00:05:48Ketchikan is a small town nestled along the shoreline of a vast flooded mountain range that makes up southeast Alaska.
00:05:56Surrounded by ocean fjords and national forests,
00:06:00Ketchikan's unique location was founded and its roots in history rest on the abundant wild Pacific salmon.
00:06:09In 1885, an Irishman named Mike Martin purchased 160 acres of land from an Indian named Paper Nose Charlie.
00:06:18The land included a salmon stream nicknamed Fish Creek.
00:06:22Its Tlingit Indian name translates to the spread wings of an eagle, and it became Ketchikan's namesake.
00:06:30Salmon psalteries began production, followed by canneries,
00:06:33and in the year 1900, with a population of 800, the town became a city.
00:06:39Trolling for salmon began on a small scale in 1903,
00:06:43and canneries continued to expand in size and number.
00:06:481912, Wards Cove Cannery was established,
00:06:51and in 1913, Ketchikan cold storage was built with a capacity to produce 70 tons of ice
00:06:58and storage capacity of over 7,500,000 pounds.
00:07:04The halibut industry began to boom, and by 1930, more than 150 halibut boats and 1,000 salmon boats called
00:07:11Ketchikan home.
00:07:13These fishermen maintained a steady supply of seafood for the 13 canneries and cold storages that had by then been
00:07:20established.
00:07:20The industry underwent trials and tribulations,
00:07:24fish pirates raged against fish traps,
00:07:27and federal mismanagement eventually gave way to state regulation.
00:07:32The wild Alaskan salmon that had supported indigenous peoples for thousands of years,
00:07:38and that gave life to the city of Ketchikan,
00:07:41remains an important part of the town's identity.
00:07:45Despite 120 years of commercial fishing,
00:07:49Alaska maintains the only healthy and sustainable salmon fishery in the world.
00:07:57In the 1990s and the early 2000s have been the highest catches and escapements in the history of Alaska.
00:08:06So we're off the scale in terms of the production of wild stocks and aquaculture programs as well.
00:08:15And we have an extremely dedicated crew of biologists that work for the state,
00:08:20that work tremendous hours to see to it that it's managed properly.
00:08:25They do a tremendous job.
00:08:28They're as healthy now as they've ever been, if not healthier.
00:08:32In fact, the Chinook stocks on the mainland are healthier than we've seen them.
00:08:36I've been on the Chinook Technical Committee of the Pacific Salmon Commission for years,
00:08:40and we've been dealing with rebuilding the stocks to their historic levels,
00:08:46and in most cases, we're up over the natural escapements that we're looking for,
00:08:51and everything's as healthy as it's been.
00:08:54So I would say, in general, it's probably the healthiest fishery in the world right now.
00:08:58It's got a real bright future. I don't see any wild problems anywhere.
00:09:05Over the years, rules and regulations have really been put in place to protect salmon streams.
00:09:11And I'd say, by and large, here in southeast Alaska, we have, as I said,
00:09:16almost pristine spawning grounds for the salmon.
00:09:19And we've been very fortunate that we've had very good marine survivals.
00:09:22Just the natural survival we've had over the last 20 to 25 years has been wonderful.
00:09:29And because we do manage the fisheries to assure escapement,
00:09:35we've been able to take advantage of the great marine survivals.
00:09:38And, yeah, we have more fish right now than we know what to do with up here.
00:09:46That first!
00:09:48Yeah, that's been a lot of fun having Jared.
00:09:51He's been with us fishing since he was about eight.
00:09:54It's pretty much a family industry.
00:09:58It kind of goes down from generation to generation.
00:10:00I might be next, unless I find a good land job.
00:10:05Ron, my skiff man, is born and raised in Chomley Sound,
00:10:10which is an island on Prince of Wales Island.
00:10:13And he's a mountain man, born out of his time period.
00:10:18And he's a full-time commercial fisherman.
00:10:21I longline halibut, black cod, Pacific cod.
00:10:25And I've done some shrimping.
00:10:28I haven't done that for a few years.
00:10:29I've done a little herring fishing.
00:10:33And kodiak tanner fish, which is a crab.
00:10:38And salmon.
00:10:42Jason, he's, I've known him since he was real little.
00:10:45And he's been bugging me for years, high school.
00:10:47A kid that's just been bugging me and bugging me.
00:10:51And so I finally took him up and said, OK, let's go.
00:10:54First trip, I got sick.
00:10:56Second trip, hurt my arm.
00:10:58Then this trip, I got sunburnt really bad.
00:11:02My goal for the next trip is not to get hurt at all.
00:11:05The one slot Mike is filling, that slot's been filled for six years.
00:11:10It's just by happenstance mostly that if we need a guy
00:11:14and one of the other crewmen know some of somebody
00:11:18that we want to give a chance, we'll give them a chance.
00:11:22But it's, I don't go shopping for salmon crew members.
00:11:30Day one on board the Viking main.
00:11:33The crew is the first to arrive on board.
00:11:36They don't know where they are going or when.
00:11:38But there's always work to be done and always supplies to be bought.
00:11:42We have a creamer now.
00:11:44Oh, chocolate milk.
00:11:45We're not getting chocolate milk.
00:11:48Where they go is always a mystery until Russell brings word.
00:11:51Yesterday, McAllister did a test set at Hockey Island.
00:11:55Seventy-some thousand pounds.
00:11:58Well, they're going to make an announcement this afternoon
00:12:00and then we'll decide which way we're going to move.
00:12:02Only certain areas will be open to fishing.
00:12:05And of those areas, fishermen pick a spot based on past experience,
00:12:09time of year, weather, gut feelings, instinct, and superstition.
00:12:13Many captains are so superstitious and secretive
00:12:17that not even their crews are given a clue as to where they are going.
00:12:20Because in fishing, who's catching what and where is very important.
00:12:32Time to get down to the business of fishing.
00:12:35We're headed north to Hidden Falls.
00:12:41Possibly.
00:12:42To Hidden Falls.
00:12:43To Hidden Falls.
00:12:44To Hidden Falls, which is a terminal harvest area.
00:12:48To chase some chum salmon.
00:12:51It's an opening up there on Sunday.
00:12:54We have like a 20-hour boat ride here up the beach.
00:12:58Up through here.
00:12:58Up through here.
00:12:59Up through Wranglin Arrows by Petersburg.
00:13:01Across Frederick Sound.
00:13:03Down Gardner.
00:13:04Up by Hidden Falls.
00:13:05In Chatham Straits.
00:13:07Here's Juneau over here.
00:13:09This is Sitka out here.
00:13:11And this is Petersburg.
00:13:14It's kind of like a shootout.
00:13:17Yeah, there could be about a hundred boats in a seven, eight mile area.
00:13:24So it's going to be real crowded.
00:13:26Real crazy.
00:13:27A lot of boats dodging and weaving.
00:13:31And it's pretty entertaining.
00:13:35Really.
00:13:36A lot of guys scratching and clawing for a good set.
00:13:41Chums.
00:13:43Hopefully it should be good fishing.
00:13:46Yeah, it should be.
00:13:48We'll get a boat load.
00:13:49Oh, I've been at this too long to get too excited.
00:13:52But we've had sets as big as 50,000 pounds before.
00:13:58Which is half a boat load in one set.
00:14:03So it'll be fun.
00:14:06Didn't a couple boats run into each other that year too?
00:14:09Boat rolled over.
00:14:10That's what happened.
00:14:12Or was it some guy got hit by the main tow line?
00:14:15Yeah, the helicopter came and medevaced a guy off the back deck.
00:14:18Toe line snapped.
00:14:20Yeah, it was crazy.
00:14:21That was the day we had the 50,000 pounds set.
00:14:24We couldn't get it aboard.
00:14:25It took us two hours.
00:14:26Remember that?
00:14:27That was our first set of the season, wasn't it?
00:14:29First set of the year.
00:14:31Yeah, our very first set of the year.
00:14:3250 some thousand pounds.
00:14:33It was Timmy's and Jeff's first year and we had to rail them all out.
00:14:37Yeah, they didn't know what a brailler was.
00:14:39Look, I remember hitting Timmy within that brailler like every time.
00:14:45Sorry, Timmy.
00:14:49Yeah, okay.
00:14:50We'll just go inside or go around the starboard side.
00:14:54I can't read.
00:14:54I can't read pretty much.
00:15:04There's people that will try it and then never do it again.
00:15:07And there's people that will do it and love it and keep doing it, I would say.
00:15:10You know what I mean?
00:15:11And then there's dudes that will come in and work for a week and be like,
00:15:14I'm out of here.
00:15:15You know, this is not my gig.
00:15:17It's almost impossible.
00:15:19You take all these different personalities and you shove them on a 58-foot boat
00:15:24and try to make sure they get along and plus teach them a job that they'll luckily get in a
00:15:29year
00:15:30and you only have about a week to teach them it.
00:15:32Guys, you always got to be telling them what to do and they just sit there staring at their hands
00:15:37all day.
00:15:38You know, guys like that really piss me off.
00:15:41You know, guys aren't going to make it.
00:15:42Like, I think there's a guy on Gary's boat now, the guy who's running the hydraulics.
00:15:46I think he's going to quit as soon as he gets back to Ketchikan.
00:15:49I don't know if Gary knows that now, but the other kid was telling me that.
00:15:53But, yeah, so there'd be, like, crew members.
00:15:56You can constantly go through them.
00:15:58We went through six guys, so, you know, they don't mess around.
00:16:02You screw up, you're done.
00:16:04We'll take you back to town, drop you off, or sometimes if you piss the captain off enough,
00:16:08we'll drop you off on the nearest packer.
00:16:09You don't even make it back to town.
00:16:11It's working on a boat.
00:16:13I mean, it's something you can do, anybody can do, but not everybody can.
00:16:25Early the next morning, the Viking maid reaches the Wrangel Narrows, nicknamed Christmas Tree Lane.
00:16:31More than 70 navigational aids light up the 21-mile stretch of narrow waterway passage.
00:16:38In some places, it is only 100 yards wide.
00:16:42Its average depth is only 19 to 22 feet,
00:16:45and navigating its passage requires at least 46 nautical course changes.
00:17:01At the northern edge of Wrangel Narrows is another small fishing town, Petersburg,
00:17:06and one of the processing plants, Ocean Beauty.
00:17:09Russell makes a quick stop to pick up an announcement provided by the Department of Fish and Game,
00:17:14who regulate the fishermen.
00:17:16I'm just going to grab any one of these pylons here.
00:17:24If we see a lot of fish entering, we'll give the fishermen two or three or four days to fish.
00:17:29But if things don't look good, or if certain areas don't look good,
00:17:33we won't allow them to fish in that area, or we'll cut back in time.
00:17:37The news release will announce time and area for the whole region,
00:17:41because we coordinate all the openings throughout the region.
00:17:44We're not opening up a couple days here in Ketchikan and a couple days in Petersburg.
00:17:48Everything's open at the same time.
00:17:49So they kind of control the fleet movement that way,
00:17:53so they don't get the whole fleet piling into one area.
00:17:57And it's worked real well.
00:17:59And of course, over time, they've had a lot of practice at it.
00:18:02You know, since statehood, they've gotten really good.
00:18:06Now, since we all understand how safe the future of these salmon are,
00:18:10the Viking maid can continue northward to harvest a few of them.
00:18:13As we cross Frederick Sound, we are entering larger bodies of water
00:18:17that are not as difficult to maneuver in as the straits.
00:18:20These waters, however, represent a much more dangerous element than big tides.
00:18:25These waters are subject to heavy winds and big seas.
00:18:29Depending on experience, fishermen have seen various sizes of waves.
00:18:36It's really hard for me to say.
00:18:38I'd say I've definitely seen 20-foot seas.
00:18:41It's possible they've been a little bigger.
00:18:43I don't know. Probably 20-footers.
00:18:47I'm imagining. I don't really know.
00:18:50I've seen probably 30, 35-foot seas.
00:18:52Probably close to 30-footers.
00:18:55I don't know. I couldn't get a tape measure out at the time.
00:18:57I was rather busy.
00:19:02You just sit there and idle into them, you know.
00:19:05Hopefully your windows hold.
00:19:07But it's not fun, you know.
00:19:11But it happens.
00:19:19Sanders don't hesitate to fish in 5- to 6-foot seas.
00:19:23It is not fun or easy.
00:19:25But whenever there is an opening, fishermen want to fish.
00:19:31Like the roughest I think I've ever fished in as far as seining goes is probably about
00:19:3515 footers.
00:19:36They were a nice swell, nice ocean swell we were over at McLean's Arm.
00:19:41My dad goes and wakes us all up again or something.
00:19:44He took us back out there and it was a nice swell.
00:19:47It was rocking back pretty tough.
00:19:50We got it back and I think we only had like maybe a thousand pounds, a couple thousand
00:19:54pounds, so we just had to go test it out and see if there was anything out there.
00:19:59Well, in the rough weather things get a little trickier because then you really got a lot
00:20:04of weight swinging.
00:20:05The net goes way up, way up above the deck before it comes back down at you.
00:20:11And when the waves are heavy and the wind is blowing, that sand is blowing all over the
00:20:16place and you got to hang on to it.
00:20:18Sometimes it will pick you up and make you fly around, but you got to keep a steady grip
00:20:23on it and keep throwing it down.
00:20:25Hauling gear one time in the heat of the battle, you know, you get a little close to the beach,
00:20:28things get crazy.
00:20:29I mean, it's, and it's a deal of odds.
00:20:32I mean, you're going to have a disaster.
00:20:34It's just your odds, you know, are totally against you.
00:20:42Oh yeah, I've salvaged a few, a few accidents and they're always sad, but they do happen.
00:20:49I mean, it's just inevitable.
00:20:51Something, something happens.
00:20:53It's, uh, I've been on a couple of different salvage operations where we had to go retrieve
00:20:59a boat that was unfortunate accident, so.
00:21:06Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world, particularly when
00:21:12done in the sporadic seas of Alaska.
00:21:15Every year the fishing community is reminded of this, when something goes wrong and a boat
00:21:20doesn't come home.
00:21:22Nav tech programs, noble tech programs, computers, high tech fathometers, radars, all this new
00:21:29stuff, and, uh, it's a lot safer than it ever was.
00:21:33But it's, uh, there's a lot of rocks out there, but you really have to pay attention.
00:21:36You know, a lot of uncharted rocks.
00:21:45From Wranglin Narrows, the Viking Maid traveled through Frederick Sound, up Chatham Straits,
00:21:50and onto Tocats Bay, just south of Hidden Falls and 80 nautical miles from Petersburg.
00:21:57The number of boats they could see rises quickly.
00:22:00Many boats are already gathering to look for jumps and trying to find the best spot for the
00:22:05first set of the next morning.
00:22:08As they search for the perfect location, these fishermen are also very anxious to find out
00:22:13what their competitors might or might not know.
00:22:16As a result, it is not uncommon to see a couple of boats pulled up alongside each other.
00:22:21Yeah, we're lost. What about you?
00:22:24I've been lost.
00:22:26I'd like to have this bay, just me and you.
00:22:28But you showed up at the right time.
00:22:33It's also the camaraderie with the other boats.
00:22:35We have groups of us that work kind of together.
00:22:38So we're always on the radio yuck-yucking and stuff like that.
00:22:41And it's, uh, it beats working for a living, you know.
00:22:46Yeah, I mean, you know, yeah.
00:22:47And so, I mean, this could be really good up here, too.
00:22:49It sounds like shit, there ain't no boats.
00:22:53122 last time, and I haven't seen 10 new players.
00:22:57I mean, this fleet could be less than 200.
00:23:01Yeah.
00:23:03It's a good thing, except 100 for right here.
00:23:07It's cooking grass, man.
00:23:09You got a nine inch?
00:23:12All the grass.
00:23:14Nice.
00:23:17Nice.
00:23:18That's this funky one there.
00:23:19Yeah.
00:23:20It's a hot fucking one.
00:23:29It's gonna be loaded with boats in here.
00:23:32It's gonna suck.
00:23:35It'll be like a little hidden vault or something.
00:23:37Wow.
00:23:39Go home.
00:23:42Tell Ocean Beauty that we don't wanna fish up here too much longer.
00:23:47Go back to the regular spots.
00:23:50Get to see the girlfriend every once in a while.
00:23:54That's about it.
00:23:57Everything that you like and you want is not here.
00:24:01I mean, my girlfriend is not here.
00:24:05Three months of the year, you know.
00:24:07Three and a half, say maybe four months a year.
00:24:09I don't see her.
00:24:10You know, I get some garbled up phone call
00:24:12and once in a while maybe can shoot off an email and whatever.
00:24:17I don't know what she's doing.
00:24:18She doesn't know what I'm doing.
00:24:19I don't see her.
00:24:20You know, I'm lonely out here.
00:24:22It's the middle of nowhere.
00:24:23You're with a bunch of guys who you get sick of after three weeks
00:24:26and that's all you see is the same four faces every day.
00:24:30There's no warmth.
00:24:31There's no...
00:24:34There's no niceties.
00:24:35It can be hard, you know, at times, you know, little hours of sleep.
00:24:40And, you know, but it's...
00:24:42You know, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else, you know.
00:24:46Any other job, no way.
00:24:49I think this wind will blow...
00:24:53hopefully blow these fish up here.
00:24:56This right here is where Gary had...
00:24:58right on this corner of this island, Ron, yesterday.
00:25:01He had three sets for 85,000.
00:25:03He had one set for 40,000.
00:25:05He set on a 20-minute tow on the flood yesterday morning.
00:25:10He said, yeah, yeah, there's jumps.
00:25:11And he had jumps yesterday, so...
00:25:13So far, there's not very many boats here, so...
00:25:17My whole three...
00:25:20About...
00:25:20It looked like it would be about 15 boats.
00:25:22So Gary said a lot of those guys, or six of those guys,
00:25:25didn't even have gear on, nets on when he left.
00:25:28They were still...
00:25:30But, yeah, it's...
00:25:35We'll find out more tomorrow.
00:25:38Before fishing, the power skiff has to be dropped down into the water,
00:25:42fueled up, and run for several hours to make sure it is ready to go fishing
00:25:46first thing the next morning.
00:25:49The deckhands have to look over the net several times
00:25:51to make sure there are no holes.
00:25:54Any hole in the net could mean lost fish and lost money.
00:25:58So everything has to be in tip-top shape.
00:26:08Let's go.
00:26:09Let's go.
00:26:13Let's go.
00:26:22Prior to statehood, Alaskan salmon runs were severely damaged by federal mismanagement
00:26:28and by corporate fish traps that decimated salmon populations.
00:26:33When Alaska became a state, fish traps were banned,
00:26:36and salmon were granted constitutional protection.
00:26:40Fishermen in Alaska are not allowed to catch fish
00:26:43until or unless enough salmon enter the streams
00:26:47to guarantee healthy reproduction.
00:27:06The ones that had caught up into the river and live in the river.
00:27:19With family's energy, the water plants I found are very dry.
00:27:20Wouldn't it be like this?
00:27:23The airs may have been reste cjunged in the river.
00:27:26It's been a risky, the airs may be protected against the river.
00:27:26in the river's making sea house is a Пусть- pelo-nambi version,
00:27:28The airs may also vary among the water.
00:27:28The airs may be controlled by the river and water,
00:27:28The airs may be shattered,
00:27:29the airs may have any Cat-buffly used after a river.
00:27:35The airs may be destroyed,
00:28:37But every year it's different.
00:28:39You can never predict what's going to happen in the falls.
00:28:42I've been up there with, you know, 60 other boats lined up for the opening, and then when
00:28:46that whistle bell blows, everybody's going full bore to set their nets out.
00:28:51And I've seen boats roll over because they went too hard and turned to make that set they
00:28:57wanted, and they just rolled right over.
00:28:58So it's a zoo in there.
00:29:00It's kind of crazy.
00:29:01It's pretty dangerous, too.
00:29:02And, you know, every year we hear about boats just screwing up and guys on deck who are looking
00:29:10at their feet rather than what's going on, getting their necks broken, lines popping across.
00:29:15It's like I was saying before, you always got to pay attention.
00:29:18And if someone else isn't paying attention, they're going to hurt themselves and they're
00:29:22going to hurt you.
00:29:38They're going to hurt themselves and they're going to hurt themselves.
00:30:04And if you're not seeing tiếpel coach kind of crappy, they're going to hurt themselves.
00:30:07I'm going to hurt myself.
00:30:12I think they're going to hurt themselves.
00:30:13I mean, just keep going and you're going on.
00:30:13I mean, a lot of people are voting a lot with, no whole, but I think they're going to
00:30:22Let's go.
00:31:17Let's go.
00:31:21That's more money.
00:31:22Then another one comes in and you're just like, yeah, look at all that fish and you just
00:31:27got to come and see it.
00:31:30It just makes a whole week worthwhile when you get a nice big set of fish, come pouring
00:31:37on deck, and when the whole deck's filled up to your knees and fish.
00:31:43That's the best part.
00:31:48The whole fishing thing is like a big game.
00:31:50I mean, usually we're on the top end of things because we got that guy out there.
00:31:55It's us against the other guy, the other boat, you know, and it's like a professional sport
00:32:01and it's the competition life.
00:32:04And that's why I tell the new guys that come on board and say, this is a sport.
00:32:08We're a team.
00:32:09We're a five-man team.
00:32:11The world is as good as our weakest link.
00:32:15So we'll start them off slow and in like a couple weeks or, you know, maybe 40, 50 sets.
00:32:22I expect to be up to high speed.
00:32:38Everybody's out there gossiping on their CB all day long.
00:32:40That's a part of the game.
00:32:42It's a very complex and complicated game out there.
00:32:45So all day long you're hearing rumors, you're hearing hearsay.
00:32:49Everyone's chatting, everyone's gossiping about what other boats are doing,
00:32:53what else is going on, what other spots are firing off.
00:32:56Some captains purchase VHS with secure lines on them so that no one else can tap into it
00:33:02and they can communicate on secure radio lines
00:33:04and no one else can pirate into their conversations.
00:33:07It's that cutthroat.
00:33:08It's that competitive.
00:33:09Run!
00:33:10There's five jumps right here.
00:33:13It's better.
00:33:14When I say yes, you've got to go up in the game.
00:33:17I mean, there's guys that just drive, drive, drive, drive, are really hard drivers
00:33:22and other ones that are more relaxed and laid back.
00:33:25I used to be crazy, but anymore I've gotten to look at the big picture and just,
00:33:31I mean, people pay thousands of dollars for this.
00:33:34And we get paid to do it, which is really a treat.
00:33:37No.
00:33:42Second set.
00:33:44The first set was decent, but the course of the day is still uncertain.
00:33:55It is usually these early morning sets that make or break a day, so tensions remain high.
00:34:02Speed is of the essence.
00:34:03Even as the second set is hauled aboard, the skipper and skiffman are in constant communication.
00:34:11Sam and jump.
00:34:12Through the use of hand gestures, the two relay the number and style of jumps they can see
00:34:17in order to try and quickly determine where the most fish are concentrated
00:34:21and which direction they will be moving for the next set.
00:34:25Once a decision has been made, the saying has to be set again before another boat can beat them to
00:34:30it.
00:34:40I used to jump around and whoop and scream, get real excited when I saw a bunch of fish
00:34:48pulling over the side of the boat.
00:34:49You look around and everyone, all the seasoned fishermen, are stone cold because you don't press your luck.
00:34:55You don't challenge it.
00:34:58You don't do anything that can endanger it.
00:35:01You get a set like that, you don't celebrate.
00:35:03You don't get too overexcited because the next one could be dry.
00:35:06The next set could be nothing.
00:35:07You try not to get too excited.
00:35:09Of course you've got to kind of restrain yourself from grinning because who could be upset
00:35:14with earning $1,000 in literally 30 minutes of work?
00:35:18But it's exciting.
00:35:20I mean, there's nothing like it.
00:35:21When your net's full and you know it's full, it's a damn good feeling.
00:35:29I mean, that's what you do it for, really.
00:35:31You can grind away all day and get the same amount of fish, but the big sets are just a
00:35:36lot of fun.
00:35:37The efficiency of communication and coordination between the skiff man and the captain
00:35:42is a big factor in the success or failure of a set.
00:35:45They're coming down the hook.
00:35:47If they close the net too soon, they may miss fish that are still swimming in.
00:35:51If they close the net too late, the schooling fish may begin to escape.
00:36:09It is then up to the crew to work quickly to purge the net, which will trap the fish by
00:36:14lifting the bottom of the seine underneath the fish and alongside the boat using weighted rings.
00:36:26The salmon are then completely trapped within the seine.
00:36:29There is no escape.
00:36:32Now the focus is to get the captured fish on deck as soon as possible so that the net can
00:36:37be set again.
00:36:43The same process is done over and over again, up to 18 times a day, as fast as possible for
00:36:50the entire day, for every day of each opening.
00:37:04Margaret V해� Gros 안돼
00:37:05Air Cager
00:37:05Air Cager
00:37:05Air Cager
00:37:05Air Cager
00:37:05Air Cager
00:37:18Re Dag
00:37:19Sieger
00:37:19They must be sure to get they given theayı.
00:37:23Let's go.
00:37:50Let's go.
00:38:27Let's go.
00:38:58Let's go.
00:39:45Let's go.
00:40:17Let's go.
00:40:18Let's go.
00:40:30Let's go.
00:40:37Let's go.
00:40:39Let's go.
00:41:04Let's go.
00:41:05Let's go.
00:41:06Let's go.
00:41:09Let's go.
00:41:11Let's go.
00:41:11Let's go.
00:41:11Let's go.
00:41:13Let's go.
00:41:14Let's go.
00:41:18It's actually not that cold.
00:41:21Let's go.
00:41:23Let's go.
00:41:26Let's go.
00:41:29Let's go.
00:41:32Let's go.
00:41:45Let's go.
00:42:05Let's go.
00:42:15Let's go.
00:42:44Let's go.
00:43:04Let's go.
00:43:15Let's go.
00:43:15Let's go.
00:43:15Let's go.
00:43:34Let's go.
00:43:37Let's go.
00:43:40Let's go.
00:43:52Let's go.
00:43:53Let's go.
00:43:54Let's go.
00:44:19Let's go.
00:44:20Let's go.
00:44:20Let's go.
00:44:23Let's go.
00:44:30Let's go.
00:44:40Let's go.
00:44:40How do we know it goes better?
00:44:41Right now?
00:44:48Let's go.
00:44:50Let's go.
00:44:51Let's go down.
00:45:01about two weeks ago about this i spoke to the rcp pfo1 coast guard and nobody said it was
00:45:06trespassing or anything provincial tension yes right here you spoke to varney and ray
00:45:13varney and ray don't have ultimate authority over what happens within the chief's territory
00:45:18we have that authority to make that decision and whether they not give you permission to do this
00:45:24equivalent night as of now you have no permission to do that in my territory this is the territory
00:45:32that i hold until such time i pass this on to my somebody else here okay thank you well we're
00:45:40going to go anchor up and i will form roses and we're going to we're going to be there with
00:45:45you guys
00:46:01the seas have been overfished scientists predict that major seafood stocks will completely collapse
00:46:10by 2048 up to 90 of the ocean's major predator stocks have already been wiped out
00:46:19farming carnivores like salmon are making matters worse it requires the capture of wild fish to feed
00:46:26the farm-raised salmon many people believe that raising farm salmon would leave wild salmon stocks
00:46:33free to sustain themselves but researchers in canada have demonstrated that the sea lice that thrive on
00:46:41salmon farms are actually decimating wild salmon runs walmart will not sell farm salmon because it is not
00:46:51a sustainable industry salmon farms are plagued with diseases when a disease breaks out in a farmed
00:46:59population they are quickly rushed to market if parasites soften the flesh beyond marketability
00:47:06they are canned if the decay is beyond canning they are left to rot on barges with the maggots
00:47:18despite all of the negative factors associated with farm salmon 90 percent of the salmon sold in the
00:47:24united states today is farm raised seals and sea lions are also attracted to the farm salmon
00:47:33over 5 000 seals and sea lions have been slaughtered the tide of public opinion is turning against farm salmon
00:47:41guarding against negative press salmon farmers patrol surrounding areas to keep people away
00:47:48we're now inside our tenure
00:47:53you keep telling us at our table when we see a crash from the prince of clank what's on how
00:47:57much
00:47:57you respect the chief's decisions the decision that i'm making right now is asking you guys not to
00:48:03proceed with what you what you're doing here we have tried very hard for years to protect this this
00:48:08region with all respect the first nation lots of times we don't agree on some particulars
00:48:13that's not because we don't respect first nations and until there's a legal land claims which hasn't happened
00:48:20with all respect whether kayo quit likes or doesn't like the dive
00:48:24the dive can happen now you can call the cops we've called the cops spencer's called the cops
00:48:29we are on notice that it's dangerous we accept that it's dangerous and we're just going to do it
00:48:34well they spent thousands and thousands of dollars on tfn's request for them to do studies that they
00:48:41didn't have to do how many how many of you how many and all we want to do is to
00:48:48show people what's
00:48:48down there we want to go take video take some photos and show people and say this is what we're
00:48:53talking
00:48:53about so that when we sit down we know what we're talking about i mean have you been under there
00:48:57like do you know what it looks like it looks like it's just it's just information that we want to
00:49:02give
00:49:02people to show people what is beyond the site right beyond our site right now we don't know what it
00:49:08looks
00:49:08like well why on a sunday why not on a sunday that's the time i'm not working
00:49:13in the morning i feel i didn't
00:49:29according to the friends at clack was sound there are five fundamental flaws to farm salmon
00:49:38salmon farms containing 500 000 to 700 000 fish apiece can discharge untreated feces equivalent
00:49:47to a town of 20 000 people with 138 fish farms in british columbia that's equivalent to 2.8 million
00:49:54people discharging waste straight into the ocean in addition to feces farms discharge contaminated feed
00:50:02toxic chemicals and artificial colorings what is that stuff from there you know the only industrial
00:50:09farm really uh in in canada that's permitted to not treat their waste the the waste of the animals
00:50:16just goes into the ocean and um you know people really don't have a good sense of what happens after
00:50:22that so this this is from the seabed floor so because you've got such high densities of fish
00:50:28fish they're being fed tons and tons of feed a day and that feed goes to the bottom of this
00:50:32the sea
00:50:33and you've also got the fish feces from the thousands of salmon on the farm so the bed is turns
00:50:38into marine
00:50:39desert uh you've got anoxic sediments you've got lack of oxygen and you've got this horrible black
00:50:46sediment which which stinks uh it's polluted this is symptomatic of a polluted environment so this is
00:50:52why we're trying to dive onto the farms to to see the impact for ourselves the impact on the marine
00:50:58life
00:50:58but really under a salmon farm and around the salmon farm it's like a dead zone
00:51:05number two disease and parasites
00:51:09disease is the greatest threat to farmers and has wiped out entire farm populations
00:51:14the kadoa parasite cost bc farms 30 to 40 million a year it actually liquefies the flesh of farm salmon
00:51:24and the sea lice from these farms are decimating wild salmon populations
00:51:30so for me to see the sea lice was a big one you know none of it this didn't really
00:51:37hit home it all
00:51:37seemed you know okay somebody says this a little hearsay there a little hearsay there
00:51:41oh scientific reports sure you know but it wasn't until i was out in the um in the inlet last
00:51:48year
00:51:49around the broughton and um the researchers were scooping in like hundreds and hundreds of these
00:51:55little baby fish and cat and and every single fish is covered in lice like uh one or two lice
00:52:01on a
00:52:01juvenile fish is fatal and these things had like you know 50 lice between 30 and 50 lice like it
00:52:07was just
00:52:08you know way beyond the lethal limits and all of them were like this and and i was i'd been
00:52:14kind
00:52:14of joking around that day like having a good time and it was just one of those moments where i
00:52:18just
00:52:19it was like i kind of hit a wall and um it was like it felt like i was in
00:52:25the middle of a of a horror
00:52:26movie you know like this can't be happening because it hit me you know that these fish are not going
00:52:31to
00:52:32make it to sea they're definitely not going to survive to adulthood these fish are toast they're
00:52:38not coming back so everything here that's going to it's here because of the salmon the whales the
00:52:44bears the eagles all everything else like the millions the little things like um you know like
00:52:51wild salmon are the lifeblood of the coast that's what everything depends on everything the first nations
00:52:55the people the whole ecosystem everything depends on it like i can't even imagine and
00:53:00you know it's just it was happening you know and up until now i've been oh something might happen
00:53:05something might happen no like it's happening
00:53:1299 of the salmon from six rivers vanished 3.6 million spawning salmon dropped to 147 000
00:53:23in a single generation number three escapements farmed salmon are predominantly atlantic salmon
00:53:35of foreign species to the pacific ocean the escaped salmon transfer parasites and disease to wild salmon
00:53:42and compete for breeding ground the escaped atlantics are colonizing basically all our rivers
00:53:47there are escaped atlantics everywhere everywhere around here up around atlio and around the house
00:53:51there's atlantics in the rivers and they come in at the wrong time they come in later on they
00:53:56physically trash up the wild reds and also in her wisdom in nature the wild fish when they hit the
00:54:03injury they stop feeding so when they hit the rivers they're not actually consuming uh smolts or or
00:54:09oolican larvae or small baby codfish or whatever whereas now with the farm escaped atlantics when they're
00:54:16in the rivers they're munching away on the wild fish why do alaskans care well because salmon travel
00:54:23escaped farm salmon have been found as far north as the bering sea a chinook salmon tagged in the
00:54:29central aleutian islands was captured a year later in the salmon river idaho 3 500 miles away escaped farm
00:54:37atlantics have been found attempting to spawn in 80 dc river systems including this one caught in the scott river
00:54:46massive new super farms being built in northern british columbia are within just 30 miles of alaska
00:54:56number four toxins and chemicals anti-parasitics anti-balance antibiotics and artificial colorings
00:55:05are all used in farm salmon in january 2004 in an article in science magazine a study was presented
00:55:12that found that farm salmon was contaminated with 14 cancer-causing chemicals you've got a whole range
00:55:20of ways chemicals are used on farms there's disinfectants there's antibiotics here in clackwood
00:55:27sound creative salmon used a quarter of ton of oxytetracycline that's an antibiotic that humans take as
00:55:32well there's also sea lice chemicals because you've got parasite infestation on salmon farms because they're
00:55:40crammed at such high densities salmon farmers just like cattle farmers and sheep farmers and pig farmers
00:55:45they use chemicals to get rid of these parasites and there's also artificial colorings and they they
00:55:51go in via the feed so some of the chemicals are actually used in the feed and sometimes the the
00:55:58farm salmon are bathed in chemicals as well and then there's injectable vaccines which are injected into
00:56:05the flesh of the flesh of the salmon so this is not a natural product
00:56:11number five sustainability this is what some call the fatal flaw of farm salmon
00:56:20globally we have you know a net loss of protein salmon are carnivores we have to feed them you know
00:56:27fish
00:56:27meal fish oil i think the industry is somewhere around three kilograms of input to get one kilogram of
00:56:33basically farm salmon so producing farm fish causes a net loss to the world's food supply it's not
00:56:40producing food is reducing the food supply
00:56:45after diving the friends of clackwood sound toured other farms in the sound and their new friends
00:56:51followed them around they were going to observe the scheduled harvesting of farm salmon but the collection
00:56:59boat was sent home and processors sat idle just because they were there with a camera
00:57:06farmers called the cops who verified that everything the friends had done was within the lock
00:57:13but the friends returned home to find that they had again been vandalized
00:57:25day four back in alaska the viking maid anchors up for the night after a long day of fishing
00:57:34the guys jumped into the skit to find cell phone range
00:57:39And on the way out, they saw some whales.
00:58:14Strict laws mandate that mariners must stay at least 100 yards away from whales and that
00:58:19people must not stay in the same vicinity for more than 30 minutes.
00:58:26The Viking maid had spent the entire day participating in a cause for recovery.
00:58:30They received no money for the day's work.
00:58:33All the money for the fish went to support the hatchery.
00:58:37Fishermen support hatcheries run by non-profits under state approval because they supplement
00:58:42salmon available to fishermen who are also taking pressure off the wild stocks.
00:59:02On the way back to the cove, the whales moved in closer to check out the skiff.
00:59:07Oh, my God!
00:59:09Oh, my God!
00:59:11Oh, my God!
00:59:11Oh, my God!
00:59:15Oh, my God!
00:59:16Oh, my God!
00:59:17Oh, my God!
00:59:17Oh, my God!
00:59:18Oh, my God!
00:59:18Oh, my God!
00:59:21Oh, my God!
00:59:24Oh, my God!
00:59:33Oh, my God!
01:00:04Day five is a non-fishing day, as dictated by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
01:00:09The Viking maid and others travel further north to areas that will be open to fishing the next day.
01:00:15Because of distances traveled, fishermen are many times forced to stay on the fishing grounds between openings.
01:00:22A lot of this time is spent figuring out where to fish next.
01:00:27But the fishermen also get a chance to kick back and soak up all the beauty that surrounds them in
01:00:33southeast Alaska.
01:00:35Conservation of all natural resources is written in the Constitution of the State of Alaska.
01:00:41It is the only state in the Union with a constitutional mandate for preservation of fish and wildlife resources, and
01:00:49the state has done very well.
01:00:52Alaska's is the only wild salmon fisheries program in the world to be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as
01:00:59well-managed and sustainable.
01:01:03Since farm salmon are not considered sustainable and threaten wild salmon, Alaskans adopted legislation in 1990 that banned the practice
01:01:13in the state.
01:01:16Historically, the Alaskan Department of Fish and Game has done a phenomenal job managing the more than 15,000 streams
01:01:22in Alaska while still enabling for strong industry.
01:01:27In the late 80s, Alaskan salmon dominated the U.S. market and had captured over 90% of the Japanese
01:01:34market.
01:01:35But then farmed salmon hit the world stage and went from producing a mere 1% of the world's supply
01:01:40of salmon to more than 60% in 2002.
01:01:45Farmed salmon from Chile have now captured 70% of the Japanese market, and 90% of all salmon produced
01:01:52in British Columbia are shipped directly to the United States.
01:01:56Farmed fish has dramatically dropped the price of my canned salmon from when I was getting a dollar a pound
01:02:04down to 8 and 9 cents a pound.
01:02:07So the impact of farmed fish has really destructed my livelihood.
01:02:14Pink salmon prices fell from record highs in 1988 of $1.20 a pound to record lows of 9 cents
01:02:21a pound in 2002.
01:02:26In 1987, we had 197,000 pounds of fish for $189,000.
01:02:36Last year, we caught over 2 million pounds for a total gross stock before expenses or any of this stuff
01:02:48for about $200,000.
01:02:53That's 2 million pounds.
01:02:59As operating costs continued to rise and real prices continued to fall, 37% of fishermen were forced to quit
01:03:07the business.
01:03:10Ward's Cove Cannery in Ketchikan, Alaska closed in the winter of 2002.
01:03:17My story is kind of a, it's not really too different than a lot of guys, but I had my
01:03:24own boat for years, and I got a family of boys, I've got six boys and one daughter, and I
01:03:30had a dream to one day take all my kids fishing on the boat.
01:03:35And because of what's happened economically, from the farmed salmon, I call it the farmed salmon fallout, ended up having
01:03:49to sell my boat, having to sell my house.
01:03:55So, you know, in a sense, your dreams kind of go up in smoke.
01:04:04The Alaskan salmon industry has taken a hit from the emergence of farmed salmon across the globe.
01:04:11Many have been forced to quit the business, and those that remain must catch more fish than ever before.
01:04:21And so a lot of, a lot of folks lost their jobs, and so the rest of us have had
01:04:28the opportunity to catch more fish, maybe.
01:04:31But at these prices, we certainly haven't made any more money.
01:04:35But we've had to work a little harder.
01:04:46Back to the Viking Maid, which had traveled north from Hidden Falls and had anchored up next to a potential
01:04:52fishing point just south of Basket Bay.
01:04:56The day is spent doing routine maintenance, checking the net, looking for jumps, and checking in with other fishermen.
01:05:05You know, what are we going to get for jumps?
01:05:07And you know, I don't know what the prices are.
01:05:11You've got to just try and stick with it.
01:05:13I'm all for trying to make the company make a go of it, but if we can't survive, what's the
01:05:18point?
01:05:19I agree.
01:05:20You know, what's the point?
01:05:23I'm just getting cheap fish right now is all they're doing.
01:05:26You can load your boat and it's not that much money.
01:05:28You know, that's the sad thing about it.
01:05:32There's no money.
01:05:34The thinking early on was, there's no way we can generate the kind of money it's going to take to
01:05:40mount a media campaign to beat up on these guys.
01:05:45If the Alaska salmon industry had something bad to say about beef, for instance, we could be crushed overnight in,
01:05:54you know, one Super Bowl ad or something.
01:05:57And we're not going to pick any fights with somebody that's got a bigger bank account than we do.
01:06:03The farm salmon industry has a savvy and effective media marketing and advertising campaign.
01:06:10But Alaskan fishermen have seen a lot of factual reporting about farm salmon in the media.
01:06:16Like Brad Haynes, Russell's nephew, owner and captain of the Yankee.
01:06:22You know, the media is what has helped us all out, you know, just hands down.
01:06:27The media has put the scare in the general consumer about, you know, the dyes and the toxins that go
01:06:34into the farm salmon.
01:06:36So, you know, nature's just taking its own course.
01:06:41Actually, farm salmon suffered kind of its own meltdown.
01:06:46Quality conscious consumer has said, hey, not only is this fish got some problems with it, it doesn't even taste
01:06:53that good either.
01:06:55Side by side taste test with a wild salmon is a hands down winner for Alaska salmon every time.
01:07:04And it's coming back a little bit now, you know, but there's no leaps and bounds.
01:07:09The cost of doing business is huge compared to the increase in what we're getting in salmon.
01:07:16I'm not going to get millions of dollars out of this.
01:07:19I'm going to get a nice family wage, hopefully, hopefully, and be able to continue to do it.
01:07:25I mean, that's what I bought into it for.
01:07:30It is our last day of fishing on board Viking Maine.
01:07:38Mike, how are you today?
01:07:40You good?
01:07:41Are you good?
01:07:42You look really good.
01:07:46I hope you hear this for you.
01:07:49Well, I'm going to get your feet.
01:07:52You can do that next step.
01:07:55Okay.
01:07:55Okay.
01:07:58Okay.
01:07:59Bowser.
01:08:01Bowser, look at him go.
01:08:03Ow, ow.
01:08:04It's been good to be alive.
01:08:13We're just going to breast line it.
01:08:15It's going to make it pretty heavy.
01:08:30That's about 3,000 pounds to start off the day.
01:08:34With the net back in the water, Jared has time to make a favorite snack using canned salmon.
01:08:43That's the best part.
01:08:44Did you really drink that?
01:08:45Yeah.
01:08:47It's good.
01:08:49It's just like salmon oil.
01:08:52Ceremon for the water.
01:08:58Oh, red salmon and salt.
01:09:01The watercolors were shut down.
01:09:04Why?
01:09:05That's where we used to work.
01:09:0725 years and they shut down on us.
01:09:10The markets.
01:09:18This is where I lived off in college right here.
01:09:20It's like Caucasian.
01:09:21Caucasian.
01:09:22Cocktail.
01:09:25Fishermen eat salmon all the time.
01:09:27And the amazing thing is, they never seem to get enough of it.
01:09:31We eat a lot of salmon.
01:09:33Sure.
01:09:34I mean, it's fantastic food.
01:09:36It's the best food there is.
01:09:38And it's here every day.
01:09:42I eat salmon or seafood at least six days a week.
01:09:46And sometimes five days a week, I'll have it twice a day.
01:09:49There's all kinds of ways you can add spices and complement the salmon flavor.
01:09:54But I guess I like it straight up almost.
01:09:58You can make salmon fettuccine.
01:10:01Salmon casserole.
01:10:02Of course, salmon spread is one of our favorites.
01:10:04You know, just blending in different ways.
01:10:06We grill it.
01:10:07We bake it.
01:10:08Put mayonnaise and cheese on it.
01:10:10Smoked salmon, dried salmon.
01:10:12Baked.
01:10:13Royal sauté.
01:10:14We make ceviche out of it.
01:10:15Cured lightly and dried.
01:10:17Smoke it and can it.
01:10:18Poaching it's good.
01:10:19The barbecue.
01:10:20We eat salmon raw.
01:10:21Don't ever try to eat it the same way twice.
01:10:23You can even microwave it.
01:10:25Any way you cook salmon is a good way to cook it.
01:10:27As long as it's wild salmon.
01:10:28You can't go wrong.
01:10:30You know?
01:10:31Don't overcook it.
01:10:32You're fine.
01:10:33The leftovers are the best part for me.
01:10:36The salmon spread is definitely where it's at.
01:10:39You treat it like tuna fish.
01:10:41You do the same thing with it as you would tuna fish.
01:10:46But it's so much better.
01:10:48It tastes so much better than tuna fish does.
01:10:50There's just no competing with mother nature when it comes to quality food.
01:10:56The fish that we're producing today fleet-wide is the finest quality fish that's ever been produced.
01:11:04It's an excellent product.
01:11:06And, you know, as far as farm compared to wild, you don't compare.
01:11:13If you think that farm fish is similar, it's not.
01:11:16I mean, I know fish.
01:11:19Fresh salmon, freshly prepared.
01:11:22It's got a super wonderful flavor and it just feels richer.
01:11:27It's much nicer than farm salmon.
01:11:43It's a lot of folks look at Alaska as a big park.
01:11:46Well, it's a beautiful place, but with our technology we can do industry and different things with the natural resources
01:11:56and do them right.
01:11:57I mean, that's why they were put here, I believe, natural resources.
01:12:01God put trees here.
01:12:03He put minerals here.
01:12:05He put fish here for human beings to utilize.
01:12:09And with our technology we can utilize these things and still not mess up the environment.
01:12:15It's a proven fact.
01:12:16We can do it.
01:12:17Humans are pretty smart.
01:12:22So it's not about the money.
01:12:25It's about being out here and doing a job.
01:12:27And there's a lot of jobs you can do.
01:12:29But to be out here and to do what we do every day, there's not really anything quite like it.
01:12:38You're not just out here working nine to five in some office.
01:12:44Yeah, okay, it's rough and everything and there's the upsides and downsides.
01:12:49At the end of the day, you're working hard.
01:12:52You're feeding people.
01:12:54You are seeing beautiful things every day.
01:12:59Every day is something that you just say, wow, I've never seen that before.
01:13:06Really long spring coming up.
01:13:15Pretty exciting to see that you've accomplished what you've set out to do.
01:13:21You've harnessed the tide, the currents, and beat Mother Nature taking a few fish away from her.
01:13:27So that's pretty exciting and it keeps you on your toes trying to do the best.
01:13:41I don't think I could ever leave Alaska.
01:13:45It's the wide open spaces, you get used to that.
01:13:49The hunting, the fishing, whether it's sport fishing or commercial fishing, it's truly a great place.
01:13:56I don't think I could ever leave.
01:14:02I've visited quite a few different places and I haven't found any place on earth that I'd rather live other
01:14:12than Alaska.
01:14:14Alaska.
01:14:15Alaska is an excellent place to grow up and to raise children.
01:14:21I really enjoy Alaska.
01:14:22I'm glad I grew up here.
01:14:25And I wouldn't trade it for the world.
01:14:27I really wouldn't.
01:14:29I love to fish.
01:14:31I'd do it for nothing.
01:14:32No, I would.
01:14:33I'd take that back.
01:14:34I'd do it for, you know.
01:14:37I've done it for less, let's say that.
01:14:55Margarita time.
01:14:56Looking at the rest of, you know, I've been to Mexico and I've been on the east coast of the
01:15:03US and a lot of other places around.
01:15:07We're pretty spoiled up here.
01:15:09I mean, we are real spoiled.
01:15:12But I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
01:15:15I mean, it's just, where else can you do this?
01:15:19I mean, what a view.
01:15:20You know, a room with a view.
01:15:24It's, but you have to like the out of doors.
01:15:27You know, it's an adventure just being alive.
01:15:30It's, you really have to like the out of doors.
01:15:32Fish jumping right here, going south.
01:15:35So, but it's, um, it's home.
01:15:45I think it's a good place to grow up.
01:15:46I mean, it's beautiful.
01:15:47You don't have to deal with the city too much.
01:15:49I mean, Ketchikan is kind of turning into a, whatever, city, more city than outdoorsy place.
01:15:57But you can still go hike the trails and see the mountains and the ocean.
01:16:02And that's the thing I needed the most is the ocean.
01:16:05I can't live where there's no ocean around, so.
01:16:21Just keep, keep reading them health books and keep watching the health TV show and just, uh, believe what they
01:16:27say about the wild salmon and how great it is for you.
01:16:30Keep me, keep me with the job.
01:16:35Eat fish.
01:16:37Eat fish.
01:16:38There's real people out here catching them and they're good.
01:16:41And there's lots of them.
01:16:43So, whenever you eat a wild fish from the state of Alaska, don't be afraid you're eating an endangered species
01:16:50because that's far from the truth.
01:16:53Far from the truth.
01:16:54Come on up and see.
01:16:56I'll take you for a ride.
01:16:57We'll show you some fish.
01:17:09That's the end of our trip on board the Viking Maid.
01:17:13Russell and the crew will head down to Petersburg to offload salmon and then head back down to Ketchikan for
01:17:19another opening.
01:17:22For them, the season has just begun and they're hoping for many, many more to come.
01:17:31But that won't happen unless everyone out there starts eating some wild Alaskan salmon.
01:17:36So, on behalf of all the fishing vessels and all of the fishermen involved in the Alaskan salmon industry,
01:17:43to protect the only sustainable salmon fishery in the world, which is also constitutionally state mandated,
01:17:51to protect salmon, to protect the environment, and to protect your own health against the encroachment of farmed salmon,
01:17:59be sure to eat only wild Alaskan salmon.
01:18:03And keep in mind a favorite Alaskan slogan.
01:18:07Friends don't let friends eat farmed fish.
01:18:13Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed the show.
01:18:45We'll see you next time.
01:18:45Bye.
01:18:45Bye.
01:18:51Bye.
01:19:25We'll see you next time.
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