On Sunday and Monday we went dipnetting. The following post is a bit gross for those who are squeamish, so if you are then maybe leave this blog until a happier day where nothing gets murdered.
Dipnetting is for Alaska residents only. Basically you can take this huge net to the mouth of one of the salmon rivers for certain weeks in July and catch 25 salmon for the first member of your house and 10 for each additional member. For us, that means 35 salmon.
I firmly believe that this rule and the permanent fund dividend that people get for each member of their household (aka free money from AK government each fall) is one of the reasons people have so many children in Alaska.
Oh yeah, and because kids really are great. But seriously - lots of money and fish? A practically free college savings start-up for your kids? I'm in!
This is Kennan with the net in the river. As you can see, waves can get high and it is really difficult to hold up that net. Kennan is wearing chest waders. You should know that we hate to fish.
This is dead fish. After Kennan catches the fish and brings it to shore, he whacks it on the head until it is dead. Isn't that lovely? Then, he goes back into the river while I cut the gills and rinse the fish off. You also have to snip the tail fins. I have no idea why, but it is a rule.
This is dead fish. After Kennan catches the fish and brings it to shore, he whacks it on the head until it is dead. Isn't that lovely? Then, he goes back into the river while I cut the gills and rinse the fish off. You also have to snip the tail fins. I have no idea why, but it is a rule. After that the fish stay upside down in a bucket for awhile while they bleed out. Again, isn't that just lovely?
This is a picture of the fish whacker. They make a device specifically to hit fish on the head. Along the beach you can hear parents yelling at their children "Just the head - only hit on the head!" It is a riot, the things kids in Alaska hear from their parents.
This is a photo of just how many people are in that river. The blue coat person is Kennan. There are lots of seals out there in the water too. Kennan was probably 20 feet from seals. That's cool. Standing there in the cold water is not. Free salmon is cool, too. Fishing is not.
This is our cooler, cutting board, and my fish gloves. Doesn't it look like someone committed murder and tried to stuff a body in the cooler? So gross. During the process I just sort of block out what I'm doing. After the fish bleeds I cut the head off (I know...) and then I cut up the back and gut it. Also gross. Again, I try not to think about it. Then we stick them in the cooler. Some people fillet on the beach, but we just don't. We haul them off.
This is our fillet station for our 29 salmon. Yes, that means 116 fillets. That means salmon twice a week for the entire next year. That's a lot of fish. Kennan fillets, I wash and dry the fillets, then I vacuum pack them. At home, we freeze them.
One of my major issues with the whole fiasco is how people get so in the zone that they take WAY more fish than their family will ever eat. This annoys me because it wastes a valuable resource to our state. For us, this means that if we get 29 fish, we eat 29 fish. Or we give them to family members who come to visit and bring us beef and brats. (Do you hear that everyone? No more FREE fish - now you have to WORK for it.)
This is a picture of the fish whacker. They make a device specifically to hit fish on the head. Along the beach you can hear parents yelling at their children "Just the head - only hit on the head!" It is a riot, the things kids in Alaska hear from their parents.
This is a photo of just how many people are in that river. The blue coat person is Kennan. There are lots of seals out there in the water too. Kennan was probably 20 feet from seals. That's cool. Standing there in the cold water is not. Free salmon is cool, too. Fishing is not.
This is our cooler, cutting board, and my fish gloves. Doesn't it look like someone committed murder and tried to stuff a body in the cooler? So gross. During the process I just sort of block out what I'm doing. After the fish bleeds I cut the head off (I know...) and then I cut up the back and gut it. Also gross. Again, I try not to think about it. Then we stick them in the cooler. Some people fillet on the beach, but we just don't. We haul them off.
This is our fillet station for our 29 salmon. Yes, that means 116 fillets. That means salmon twice a week for the entire next year. That's a lot of fish. Kennan fillets, I wash and dry the fillets, then I vacuum pack them. At home, we freeze them.
One of my major issues with the whole fiasco is how people get so in the zone that they take WAY more fish than their family will ever eat. This annoys me because it wastes a valuable resource to our state. For us, this means that if we get 29 fish, we eat 29 fish. Or we give them to family members who come to visit and bring us beef and brats. (Do you hear that everyone? No more FREE fish - now you have to WORK for it.)So, that is the fish massacre saga. We really hate to fish. I mean really hate it. But 48 hours of torture is worth 2 free meals a week of extremely healthy food for the entire next year.
So here's to salmon eating! I now put salmon in stir fry, casserole, pasta, eggs of all varieties, soup, etc. It starts becoming like beef in Iowa. That's how I know I'm from Alaska.
If you made it to the end, congratulations.
5 comments:
It's so funny cuz I remember as a kid growing up in Alaska getting so tired of salmon...cuz my mom would bake a whole one and then we'd eat leftovers in every form possible. Now I long for fresh, good, free (or even affordable) salmon. Crazy how that changes! Enjoy some for me!
Ha! Thanks for sharing a great story! I'm glad it's over. I'm also glad you'll be well-fed through the coming year. :)
after watching Dexter (seasons 1-5) i have a pretty high tolerance for blood and stuff :) P.S. I don't know if i ever told you, but one of my children's stories i plan to publish is about salmon!
to add to that, i'm fine with viewing blood and stuff, it's the touching of the raw meat (of any kind) that grosses me out. so props to you for going to all that effort!
Oh dear. Yum. I bought frozen salmon at SAMS and it was disgusting. I would love fresh, but wow, what a lot of work for the fresh stuff. Head wackers. It's all too much. WHAT an experience. Way to embrace the culture!!!
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