Chasing Herring Spawn on Sitka SoundSITKA- In early spring, the forests and estuaries begin to thaw. With the softer earth and longer days, Sitka's residents thaw too. We stretch our arms and arch our backs, padded with a little extra winter weight, toward the incresaing sunlight. We look to our coastline for the return of the herring.
In Sitka Sound, herring have always been the harbingers of spring. As they return en masse each year, they carry on their iridescent backs the promise of warmer weather and seasons of subsistence.
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Published in 2016 with Anchorage Daily News
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GratitudeGunalchéesh to everyone on this journey who tolerated my green, curious, and ignorant presence on aluminum skiffs and commercial fishing boats for weeks and weeks while shooting and researching this story. Gunalchéesh in particular to my dear friend and continued mentor Wade Marty Martin who has taught me everything I know about hunting, fishing, and crafting a careful and compassionate life in Sitka Sound. Gunalchéesh to his good humor and crass jokes and above all Gunalchéesh to the Tlingit Kik.sadi for their continued stewardship of Sitka's herring.
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