It's 3:00 a.m. as I winch up the anchor, coffee mug in hand, and prepare to make my first set of the day. It's a dark twilight in Alaska at this hour, same as when I anchored last night around 11:00 p.m. It's not fully light out yet, so I want to drop my net in the water for the "change of light" sets. The fish are most active and moving about as the sun comes up and goes down, so it's time to get things going. Something about the light affects them, often making this time of day the best set of the day.

My son is still in the bunk asleep. I won't wake him until 9:00 a.m. or so. During the day, I'll nap once or twice while he watches the net, so he gets to sleep in a bit. It's beautiful this time of day. As the sun comes up, the low angle of the light illuminates the mountains nicely. It looks like it will be clear and sunny today, which is both good news and bad. The good news is that it's clear and sunny; the bad news is that this weather sometimes puts the fish down deep (out of the range of our shallow nets). Here in Taku Inlet, clear sunny weather often means stiff northerly breezes too.

Some of the guys fish all night, but I usually try to get at least a couple hours of sleep just to be able to keep up the pace for the first several days of the opening. Plus, there are hazards that go with fishing at night, like logs that get in your net and tear the web. The fishing has been slow so far. I don't have many sockeye in the fish hold to show for the dozens of sets and hauls I have made thus far. I hope that first monster set this morning will yield enough sockeye to make my week worthwhile.

During the summer, this process, or similar, is replicated all over the state in a number of different salmon fishing districts. Particulars vary from fishery to fishery, including the different gear types - troll, gillnet, seine - but there are some 12,000 individual salmon license holders working hard and hoping they'll catch enough and be able to sell the salmon at a decent enough price in order to make their summer's effort worthwhile. For many, salmon fishing has been a mainstay of their fishing enterprise, and in the past, has been key in the support of their families. For many, it is a family enterprise, with husband and wife, or kids working together on the boat to make it a good season. It's hard work, dangerous, and now-a-days, doesn't really pay all that well. Yet every spring, the docks buzz with activity and every person hopes that it will be a good season. Alaska fishermen are their own bosses. They run and own their individual businesses. They like their autonomy; and yes, many like the "lifestyle" - being on their boats, out on the water, making their own decisions that will have tangible results (good or bad), but at least it's their own call.

The Alaska salmon fishery is one of several major fisheries in Alaska. Others include halibut, crab, Alaska Pollock and other whitefish. In many Alaskan rural and coastal communities, fishing is often the only or the most viable occupation. It's been an important part of Alaska for nearly 100 years, and still today, seafood harvest and processing employs more people in the State's private sector than any other industry. It is often the only occupation that sustains some of these communities. Alaska produces over 50 percent of the USA's catch-of-seafood.

Back on deck, at the stern roller of my boat, I watch the net come in. I'm keeping my eye on the corkline, which is a telltale sign of whether sockeye are in the net below the water's surface. There are a few. I wish there were more. I imagine myself as the guy behind the seafood counter at the market, or the waiter in the restaurant, talking to the customer who wants to buy a fish. What can I tell this customer? How can I communicate what a wonderful bounty from the cold North Pacific Ocean? How can I describe to those who have not tasted the flavor of Alaska Seafood that it's just as nature intended it to be? How will I explain what a healthy, nutritious fish it is? How can I get them to understand and appreciate the sacrifices and the hard work that the Alaska fishermen invested into this wild caught fish? This is nature's finest! This is what a salmon was intended to be! How can I convey all of the wonderful attributes of this fish, so that they will come again and ask for Alaska? Will they ever know that it's wild, sustainable and delicious, and that the time-old tradition of fishing supports many families?

With the net on-board, I put the boat in gear and motor towards a new spot. It's a cycle I will continue over and over during this opening. Hopefully the next set will be better.

Randy Rice
F/V Daydream
Juneau, Alaska