Tag Archives: bow pickers
Cordova: Fishing is the Name of the Game
With the tempo picking up all over town, one can tell another fishing season is right around the corner. The streets and intersections are filled with vehicles, and what I call “summer” speed limits, as well as vanishing parking spaces, now seem to be the norm. Nautical writer William Snaith, in his essay “About Figaro” wrote much about the naming of sailing vessels, but his truisms apply to all craft. For example, consider the F/V Aquaholic, clearly hooked on the Copper River’s murky waters, anticipating reds and kings hitting the gear in that first set of the season. Or how about the F/V Net Profit? Clever. Then there is the F/V Slo Learner,,, >click to read< 08:25
Millennial fishermen and women carry out an Alaska state tradition on the Copper River Delta
Cordova is only accessible by boat or plane. It’s a place where neighbors take care of one another, all united by passion for their community and the land they call home. This humble town is home to a world-class fishery: the Copper River. Like most things in Cordova, the salmon fishery is largely independent, and the operation is as local as the shops and restaurants that line Main Street. More than 540 independent boats fish for Copper River salmon each year. These boats, known as bow pickers, are manned by one to two fishermen who cast their nets over the bow and then hand-pick the salmon off as they reel the net in. Nets stretch 900 feet long and are mended by hand. And, many of those boats are owned by increasingly younger generations of fishermen and women. Click here to read the story 16:57
