With a heavy heart, Jamie Ross stands at the helm of his herring fishing boat, gazing out at the horizon as though peering into an uncertain future. The once-abundant herring runs that sustained Southeast Alaska’s economy and communities now seem like a distant memory. In this gripping short film, the stark contrast between the commercial and subsistence fishermen of Sitka is laid bare, a microcosm of the larger struggle to preserve our natural resources. Despite the harsh reality of dwindling catches and plummeting markets, some continue to fish, driven by a deep-rooted passion for the sea and the hope that the herring may one day return. But the signs are ominous, with experts warning that the decline of herring runs may be irreversible. Yet, amidst the turmoil, a glimmer of hope remains, a reminder that even in the face of adversity, the human spirit can endure.
Via YouTube: Sheet’ká, or Sitka, is one of the last places where herring eggs — a critical cultural food for Indigenous communities — can be harvested in Southeast Alaska. This film looks at the evolving relationship between the herring egg harvest, the commercial sac roe fishery, and state management.
The idea that it’s collapsed and it’s on decline is nothing more then an agenda by certain groups to end commercial fishing. The herring have disappeared before the halibut have moved through this ,Cod was proclaimed gone just a few years ago now they are in places all through the aleutian s that didn’t have much before. The native alaskans are not concerned with the state’s economy or well being of commercial fishers. Sad