My name is Jessica, my story with commercial fishing started when I had just graduated from college and I wanted to take a year off before going to graduate school, so I was looking for a job where I could make a lot of money during the summer and take winter off to ski. Commercial fishing had always been in the back of my mind, so I bought a pair of Xtratufs and some orange rubber rain gear, and flew to Alaska to fish. I fell in love with Bristol Bay and working on the water in a close relationship with the sea and rivers around me. That was ten years ago now, I am still skiing all winter in the mountains around Jackson, Wyoming, and I still have as much respect for the Bristol Bay salmon fishery as I did the first time I picked a fish from the net.
Growing up in Vermont, a landlocked state, the ocean wasn’t near, but what did surround me on all sides was acres and acres of organic farmland. Eating local and sustainable produce from our backyard garden and the farm stand down the road was just a part of life. My mom was a craft artist and so I grew up going to the local farmer’s market every Saturday rain or shine, where the vegetable growers and cheese makers, apiaries and butchers all gathered to sell their product.
I recently bought my own fishing boat and am so excited to now be able to contribute to the community of sustainably sourced food and share the fish I catch with friends, family, and everyone else looking for a nourishing wild protein source. Whether you live in the rolling hills of a mountain town or by the coast, I hope this sockeye salmon gives you a taste of the wild waters of Bristol Bay from the tundra to the tides.
