They’re here! Our beautiful sockeye salmon have started their summertime migrations and are finning through our waters on their way to spawning grounds. While we wait for the commercial salmon fishing season to begin (it’ll be a bit late this year), we’ve enjoyed putting out our subsistence net a few times to catch fresh fish for dinner.

“What’s the difference between subsistence and commercial fishing?” you may ask. Subsistence fishing is for personal, household use, along the lines of the traditional way people have harvested food and fed their families since salmon and humans coexisted in Alaska. It is not for commercial use at all. Our subsistence net is less than 15% of the length of our commercial nets, and half as deep, with lighter corkline, leadline, and smaller corks. It’s like a miniature replica of commercial gear. We relish this time to put a net in the water just for fun and just for ourselves - not to try to make a living, pay a crew, make expenses, or any of that kind of stress. Fishing for our own bellies and that of our neighbors in this way feels like an ancient way of connecting with salmon, a more intimate way of welcoming them to the area before we begin our commercial season.

Our subsistence net with one fish for dinner! What a gift to be able to eat this way.

It’s hard to overstate how wonderful these meals of the first fish of the season are - refreshing our minds, bodies and spirits and filling us with all the good energy we need to get to get going on this busiest time of year.

Fresh Fish!!