Ah… There is nothing quite like the sweet smell of fuming diesel clouds combined with the shrill sounds of screaming fishermen and scraping Aluminum. That is one hell of a shoot out!
Via YouTube: Early morning in Alaska. Prince William Sound. Main Bay. Out fishing the week on the water. 1 video in two parts. This was really something to see. Amazed at how super the video came out as trust it was a bumpy ride. At the hatchery. I’m on Sam’s F/V, the Net Profit. An AGZ rodeo… It was like a rodeo– with boats. Very exciting to document these F/Vs in action & see this first hand & so up close. They remind me of cowboys or footballers. Sam went straight up the middle as Tim & others helped block him. Crazy how close they all get. Also, hitting into each other, some hard enough to lift the boats up on their side or spin them around. What an adrenaline pumped minute and 45 seconds… blink & you miss things… Whew ?
So. This only happens on certain conditions & only when sustainable to do so. The hatchery has enough fish in their brood stock & covered costs so allowed the fishermen into the hatchery to gather the fish growing old & deteriorating in quality as the salmon are late in their life cycle. These hatcheries are nonprofit & self sustaining due to the fish tax that these fishermen pay & fish at the head of this bay are part of an enhanced salmon program that created a surplus of salmon that the fishermen are then allowed to harvest. If the salmon are not harvested, the large amount left will die & devoid the bay of precious nutrients such as oxygen & disturb the natural balance.