Lowes Travels

Some fishy facts about dip netting in Alaska

After a few days in Homer, we back-tracked on the Sterling Highway and went up north to Kenai, the largest and the oldest city on the Kenai Peninsula . This was a “lazy stop,” since we had been in this area before and didn’t need to explore much.  The RV park we stayed at had spectacular views of the Kenai River, Cook Inlet and on a clear day two of the four active volcanoes, Mt Redoubt and Mt Iliamna.

Kenai Peninsula, Alaska’s Playground

When we pulled into the park we noticed immediately that all of the guests seemed harried and in a frenzy, full of energy.  We later learned that we arrived here at the peak time of the Kenai River personal use salmon dip netting season.  The season began on July 10 and ends July 31.  This is the period during which all Alaskans put everything on hold and fill their freezers with FRESH SALMON.

Watching the action below from the bluff at the RV park

So what is dip netting?  To dip net, anglers stand in the mouth of the River holding large nets with long handles.  As the fish move from the ocean to the river, they swim along the shoreline in large groups.  When the time is right, one can catch enormous amount of Salmon in this way.  And this type of fishing is exclusive only to Alaska residents, no tourists allowed.  However, the seasonal harvest limit is 25 per household, plus 10 per dependent, and all fish must be marked.  As you can imagine, it’s somewhat of an “honor” system.  As I mentioned in my previous blog, fishing regulations are complicated .

Mt Redoubt
Mt. Redoubt on the background

Old man showing off his catch

dip netting
Women are great “fisher people”, too!
Dip Netting
Bleeding a Salmon

The catch, Sockeye Salmon
Lady busy cleaning her fish

We  became spectators of the shore-based dip netting frenzy at the Cook Inlet shoreline while we were there. Especially on the first day, we saw hundreds of fish literally jumping out of the water and into people’s nets.  It was an amazing sight to see hundreds of people, including children, intent on the family project.  Only in Alaska can you see this kind of frenzy.

Both sides of the shoreline were packed with frenzied fishermen
Kenai, AK

The aftermath

The aftermath, and it really stinks here 😦
The clean up crew, not a great job and the odor is almost unbearable on the beach

On our last day here we were invited to a BBQ party in Nikiski, 17 miles from Kenai. I finally met Gemma in person whom I initially met on a Yahoo group for the high school I  graduated from. We continued our friendship on FB and finally visited her and family in Nikiski. That was an exciting day for me  and I met her husband  also named Steve, her sisters and cousins. We had a great time and we met nice local residents.

 

 

5 comments

  1. I feel sorry for the Salmon even though I know they are on their last swim up the river.

  2. The subsistence fishing with nets and fish wheels is amazing to see! For us southern fishermen ( the old rods and reels variety) it feels like cheating. But this is their winter food source and food for their working dogs too. We didn’t see the dip-netting but I’m happy to miss the smell!!! Great pictures!

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