Our Beach Isn't Ours Anymore

I'll post the pictures first... skip the "essay" if you'd like... I just don't ever want to forget a single part of this!






Just a few weeks ago, my friend Leaca took us down the beach for pictures (the one in this blog's title banner is from that day). In our minds, we own that beach, which is why we wanted a family picture taken there! Jacob and the boys especially love to walk down a quaint little trail just about a block and a half from our apartment. The trail leads down the bluff, across a scary little bridge and onto the beach. There are rarely other people down there which is why we call it "our" beach. The boys roam freely, throwing rocks, digging in the sand, climbing on driftwood, splashing in the water, etc. They've even gone and climbed on mini glaciers in the middle of winter! They are totally in their element when we go there.

Well... OUR BEACH ISN'T OURS ANYMORE! (this is Ammon's quote). Dipnetting season is here! The season opened on July 10, while we were camping in Seward. The same night we got back from camping, we walked out to the bluff and looked down to see our beach teaming with resident Alaskans all vying for the famous sockeye salmon that run towards the river to spawn. The fishermen stand out in the water anywhere from waist to chest deep holding a long pole with a giant net attached to the end. They stand there patiently and wait and wait and wait until a salmon swims right into the net. For two seasons now, we've watched people pull in fish after fish and very quickly fill up their ice chests.

This kind of "fishing" is called "subsistence fishing." Alaskan residents are permitted to do this as a way to fill their freezers (or cupboards, as people also can and smoke their salmon) with enough salmon to last them throughout the year. Each head of household is allowed to net 25 salmon per season, while every additional member of the household is allowed 10. For my family, this means we can net 65 fish this season! Dipnetting by proxy is also permitted, meaning that people can dipnet for the elderly or disabled who are unable to do it themselves.

It's quite a sight to behold. The upper beach is lined with tents where many dipnetters set up camp for up to a week or so while they dipnet all day. Most others set up little "stations" right by the water where they have some kind of wagon or sled used to transport their coolers and other gear. I've also seen people set up little tables where members of the families sit and fillet their fish while others continue to net the fish, throw them onto the table and run back into the water for more.

Unlike other fishing in the area, dipnetting is reserved strictly for Alaskan residents. Well, we're finally residents, so Jacob made arrangements with Paul, a friend from our Ward, to take us out. Four missionaries (two Elders and a senior couple) also joined us for the adventure. We got into the water at about 2 p.m. and for the first hour or so, we caught almost nothing. I was starting to think that we were going to have a "no harvest" experience before having any success (this is how it's been with our clamming and fishing experiences), when suddenly our luck changed.

It was really a beautiful thing for me. I was standing there in the the freezing cold water, trying to just relax and not "stress" about the fact that I wasn't netting any fish. I'd started to hum a primary song and I was thoroughly enjoying the beauty all around me when fish started jumping left and right (sounds corny, I know!). I don't know why they do this, but some of them take one jump and do a sort of flip out of the water while others seem to skip along taking three or four jumps as they swim. The Elders and Jacob and I just kept exchanging glances as if to say, "It won't be long, it won't be long!!" Sure enough, it wasn't long before we started pulling out fish after fish. We were all ecstatic, like little children playing some new and exhilarating game.

Ammon and Abraham had the special job of running from net to net bonking the fish on the head so we could pick them up and rip the gills out. My boys were in heaven. The only thing that was more fun than the bonking was when Paul handed Ammon the gills, fish eggs, guts, heads and carcasses to throw to the seagulls. Sometimes Ammon even managed to throw a bunch of eggs high enough in the air that the gulls would catch them mid-air! I think they'll be talking about this for months to come!

Within about an hour and a half, the two Elders, Jacob and I had caught 45 fish! We kept saying that we needed to call it a day, but it was really hard to get out of the water when we knew there were so many fish to be caught! After finally going home and putting my exhausted kids in bed, I joined Jacob and Paul in the cleaning (the poor Elders weren't able to stick around for this part... poor them!) We worked until about 11:30 p.m. cleaning the fish and vacuum packing them for the freezer. As of now, all the fish are still in Paul's freezer and we're going to divy them up sometime this week. It's exciting to me to join the ranks of what I call "tough" Alaskans, those who hunt or fish and then live from that food until the next season. Anybody have some yummy salmon recipes to share???