After our 8 hour land tour, we just had to get a look around the island from a captain’s perspective. The seemingly endless bounty coming out of the Pacific ocean is the bread and butter of this community. Almost everyone is tied to fishing or tourism, with the exception of Coast Guard and military. Well, the Coast Guard performs rescues around unfortunate fishing vessels, so their work does result from mishaps related to fishing.
Even though I have experience navigating boats in the past, I didn’t remotely care to get behind the wheel of this green and white river tug. However, I did get a little practice back in Anchorage. Really, I did!
There is no mistaking that fishing is the number one industry here. Today Kodiak is consistently ranked among the top three commercial fishing ports in the United States. Clean, nutrient rich waters produce some of the best tasting seafood in the world. Sadly, I don’t eat fish so I cannot be a fair judge of that.
Commercial salmon fishing was halted right before we took our boat ride, which required all commercial fishing boats to return to the harbor to sell their catch. They were parked two deep all along the cannery docks, waiting to relinquish their bounty for some cash.
Some boats came back with their bellies full and others had square parcels made out of some type of vinyl. The parcels were hoisted by cranes, but the most common method required giant round hoses. The hoses came out of the cannery and inserted into the fish tank on the boat. The fish are sucked up through the hose into the cannery building. A number of the Deadliest Catch vessels assist smaller boats during the summer by collecting the fish and delivering them to the canneries so the boats can continue to fish.
Crab season comes later in the year, but we saw lots of crab pots stacked on docks and on land. They looked like they were patiently waiting to be put to use.
Speaking of crab pots, we drove past a huge stack beside the road and we stopped for a photo op. Don’t they make a perfect backdrop?
One fish processing company operates inside a ship that has been permanently attached to the shore. After the devastating earthquake in 1964, the island needed to resume their livelihood as quickly as possible. A commercial ship was just being built at the time and was sent to Kodiak to become a processing plant. Securing it was faster than rebuilding a structure.
We heard that this next boat is quite the trouble maker. It is actually a de-commissioned ship turned in to a profitable strip club. Most of the town is in an uproar but the owner is untouchable because the ship lies in Federal waters. They charge $20 to pick up patrons from the dock who want a ride out to the party. Captive audience maybe?
I took pictures of these orange jellyfish that were all around the harbor. The one in the picture below measured about ten inches in diameter. They were really cool to watch and stood out against the blue water.
The highlight of the boat trip for me was seeing this cute little guy. He was hanging out all by himself, floating on his back with his feet up. Sea otters look so sweet but in fact they are supposedly mean little hunters. He looked straight at my camera and I took lots of pictures of him!
We saw lots and lots of birds. Puffins are still my number one, but they are hard to get up close to in the wild. These two were trying to swim away and eventually took off. The captain told us that puffins spend the winter months way out in the ocean and don’t roost on rocky cliffs like they do in summer months.
Eagles were spotted all over the island. They were on top of dock posts, street lights, treetops, and along many stone faced cliffs, looking out over the water. I did manage to catch one in flight though. You can’t help but smile when you see one.
Another prominent ocean bird is the cormorant. I liked the dark silhouette of these birds on top of a rock. Sea gulls were everywhere and frankly I am tired of hearing them. Our last campground was near a river full of salmon and they squawked all night long. Sometimes they sounded like a small dog wimpering.
Our last stop was at the old breakwater at the harbor. A taller wall of rocks was built to protect the harbor, but parts of the old one still remain. It is now the favorite sleeping spot for stellar sea lions. They hunt at night and rest during the day. Once we were spotted, they started their loud honking sounds.
This picture was not taken during our tug tour, but for visitors and residents without a boat, they must catch salmon the old fashion way. Right now the salmon are swimming up the streams and you just need to hook one with your fishing pole.
Captain Jim got us safely tied up to the dock and graciously offered to take a group picture. He was very informative and I recommend his tour if you have a couple of hours to spare on your trip to Kodiak. Many people come over for a day to explore the island and fly back on the last flight of the day. If I had an extra $500, I would fly over to the wildlife refuge and see the bears (from a safe distance). Maybe another time…..
