With eagles calling as an alarm clock, each crew woke to begin the procession out of Ketchikan. We have been enjoying sunny days while in the rainiest town of Southeast Alaska. Although the clouds had rolled in overnight, as we made our way south in the Tongass Narrows the sky opened up to a glorious day for cruising.

The fleet made our way past about 10 actively fishing boats who were all purse seining for Salmon. Purse Seining is a style of fishing where a tender is launched from the main vessel which drags a net away. The two boats then drag the net along in the water for about 20 minutes. The tender then brings the end of the net back to the main vessel enclosing the net around the fish. A line is then tightened at the bottom of the net and the net is hauled onto the boat. The boats were busy catching!

Salmon have been a very important part of Native Alaskan culture since they came to this area over ten thousand years ago. The Tlingit people have stories that tell of humans and other animals being related and they can go between each other’s worlds. One of these, known as Salmon Boy, is about a young boy who gets taken by the salmon people and then returned to the humans with a new sense of respect for the fish that he shares life with. This story teaches us that we share the land and water with others and to do this we must respect one another.

P.S. Is Alaska on your bucket list? We can take you there! Email us to reserve your spot on our 2023 Mother Goose AK Flotilla. charters@nwexplorations.com