“Sailing for Salmon: Celebrating 125 Years of Commercial Fishing in Bristol Bay” is a collection of photos and artifacts documenting the rich history of the Bristol Bay commercial fishing industry, starting with the first cannery opening there in 1884. The exhibit has already shown at museums in Dillingham and Homer and will be presented at the Anchorage Museum beginning April 14 and continuing through September. Co-curators John Branson and Tim Troll are collecting exhibit material for a 50 to 70-page book of historical photographs and accounts cataloging the project. Their project is funded by a $4,000 Alaska Humanities Forum 2011 general grant
In this excerpt from a recent interview, Troll discusses how the collection came together, the importance of the commercial salmon fishery industry in shaping our state, and how lessons learned many years ago about the conservation of Alaska's richest fishing grounds still ring true.
The complete interview will appear in the upcoming issue of The Forum, a quarterly publication from the AKHF.
What inspired Sailing for Salmon?
For me the impetus for the exhibit was the realization in 2006 or so that the 100th anniversary of Bristol Bay fishery had long since passed without notice, but that the 125th anniversary would occur in 2009. Few Alaskans, including many in Bristol Bay, were really aware of the history of the Bristol Bay fishery. For that matter few Alaskans, especially those who came after oil started flowing in the pipeline, are aware of the fact that the foundation of Alaska’s economy for most of the state’s history since the purchase from Russia has been commercial fishing. I think part of the reason for that lack of knowledge is our failure to celebrate our ties to commercial fishing in the same way that we have recognized other industries. For example, the centennial of the Klondike gold rush in 1998 was honored with a state license plate and a major exhibit that traveled the state. We have also preserved our mining history in places like Skagway and Kennicott, but have not preserved even one cannery. This is an oversight that I hope this exhibit in some small measure helps correct. After all, salmon is probably Alaska’s longest and most consistent commercial export.
What are the scope and nature of the materials that make up the exhibit?
The exhibit is primarily photographs that focus on the sailboat days of the fishery, a period we generally date from 1884, the year the first cannery went into operation, to 1951, the first year in which power boats were allowed to fish.
The photos are a mix of those that John Branson and I found in museums and in personal photo albums. Some were taken by serious photographers and are quite compelling. A great example is a photograph by Ward Wells in the Anchorage Museum of a line of sailboats heading out to the fishing grounds at sunset. But even some of the photos taken by fishermen for their own record can be quite good. In fact, I think the most striking and iconic photograph in the exhibit was taken by [fisherman] David Carlson around 1939. It jumped out from his photo album. Composition, light, feel – it’s all there quite accidentally.
John and I looked for images that were representative of the sailboat days and captured the various activities of the typical sailboat fisherman. There are photos of getting ready, sailing, setting net, pulling net, delivering fish, and relaxing. Also in the mix are photos of some early canneries and tall ships. We didn’t include too many photographs of cannery operations and cannery workers because that is a whole other story.
We also spent a considerable amount of effort finding and getting quotes – some quite colorful – from sailboat fisherman to describe the activities in the photos and to help convey to the viewing public and reader of the book a sense of what is was like to be a fisherman in those days.
What has the public's reaction been so far in Dillingham and Homer?
In Dillingham we opened the exhibit on the day scheduled for the blessing of the fleet and the day the fleet was launched for the 125th time. The cannery cooked up salmon chowder, we flew in some traditional Italian hard-tack biscuits and had a community feed. We also gave special honors to the surviving sailboat fishermen. It was a fun, sunny day and lots of folks came out.
The opening at the Pratt Museum in Homer was, I am told by their staff, attended by more people than they had seen for an opening in years. Many people who live on the Kenai [Peninsula have fished Bristol Bay so the ties to that region are strong. We had some lively exchanges during the evening lecture and slide presentation. We hope to have the same for the Anchorage opening on Thursday evening April 14.
