Sockeye Salmon and Self-Reflections

I’m writing this post from southwest Alaska — specifically, Lake Aleknagik in the Bristol Bay region. It’s quiet out here…remote and ruggedly beautiful. How’d I end up in such an incredible part of the U.S.?

Upon moving to the Pacific Northwest, I developed a fascination with salmon and a deep appreciation for their resilient life histories. These scaled spawners play key roles in indigenous cultures, global economies, and the health of both fluvial and oceanic ecosystems. Early this year, I applied to an intensive field course to earn credit for my degree and to study all things salmon. After an interview, I was honored and thrilled to find out I was accepted into the program, along with seven other students.

Here I am, residing at a cozy camp with my brilliant and lovely classmates. We are a nature-obsessed group of Marine Biology, Fisheries, and Biology majors, and we’re working hard. We’ve had the tremendous privilege of learning from and working in the field with renowned professors, and I still can’t believe I’m here. The trip is nearly over, but I wanted to share a bit about what’s going on here and how it’s changing me.

 

To be honest, I don’t think I fully knew what I was getting into upon enrolling in a fisheries-focused class. As a Marine Biology major, there’s some departmental overlap at my school, but my studies focus far more on oceanic organisms and processes. This course has taught me not only about salmon life histories and freshwater ecosystems, but also a great deal about the complex world of fisheries management. It’s been a challenge for my vegetarian self, studying organisms that are such a critical food source for so many. Furthermore, I always had a bit of a negative stereotype of fisheries as unsustainable and greedy systems. I was very much wrong, I realize, especially concerning Bristol Bay. While I’m still an herbivore (and intend to be so the rest of my life), my views on seafood have changed significantly.

I’ve learned just how intense fieldwork can be. I’ve picked up far more dead fish than I ever anticipated I would, assessing their causes of death (“senescence or bear kill?”). I’ve walked in waders through stream after stream, flooding them a couple of times because I’m far from graceful (even when I’m not walking through a fast-flowing creek!). I’ve had to yell “Hey bear!” at the top of my lungs with my peers when we heard a nearby splash that was just a bit too loud to be a jumpy school of salmon, to alert our furry grizzled friends that we were in the area.

It’s been a rewarding and fulfilling journey, and I’m still learning about myself. While here, I’ve also realized how much I miss writing and communication. I’ve always felt pulls in both directions: storytelling and science. I’m confident that the two can go together, and I’m still figuring out just how it’ll unravel in my own academic and career paths. I suppose this blog is a good start.

- Kylie