Instead of hiring fishing crew for the second half of June, I called on my sister and nieces, ages 10, 6 and 3, to be my helpers for this slow start to the season. My sister calls it “surfing the chaos” but I prefer a more positive way of thinking about the time I’ve just spent mentoring the girls and a friend of theirs (plus a few puppies) in the art of being a Kodiak salmon set-net fisherman at Trap 6.

I love the enthusiasm they have for learning how to fish, how to tell the species apart, how to clean a salmon and enjoy eating it, how to drive a skiff or have fun riding in one, how to read the tide book and learn the wind direction, how to take care of all the camp chores. I also love seeing how they watch and learn, how the absorb and just “do” what they see. These children think they’re just having a wonderful summer vacation with Auntie at fish camp, but unbeknownst to them, they are developing a great work ethic, the sense of being a team player, patience and flexibility, deep responsibility, and so much more.

Dissecting a sockeye: Is this the same as playing with your food?

Watching this process unfold makes me more appreciative than ever that my parents brought my sister and me up in this lifestyle in a way that made us enjoy it, not feel like it was drudgery. As I look out on the summer evening, bright now after a rain, sunshine beaming in at 10 pm, mountains of the Alaska Peninsula gleaming 40 miles away, gentle wavelets caressing the beach, a sense of deep gratitude that I can share this with the next generation pervades my being. Thank you, mom and dad, for the example you set, and thank you to my sister for creating space for the kids to be here, and thank you to my nieces for being so enthusiastic about the fish-camp life! I hope we can do this together for many years to come.

-“Auntie” Adelia

The Next Generation: Surfing the Chaos