For most of my life, salmon was just salmon: nothing more than a fish. A sensible menu choice. At most, a pretty pink.
But with my marriage to Arron, WAC's founder + CEO, came not only the greatest love of my life, but also a completely new and remastered understanding of salmon — yes, as a fish species, but even more so as a keystone of a whole culture.
In Alaska, Arron's home state, salmon is a heartbeat. A purpose. A tradition. A story. A life force. A spirit animal. For thousands of years, it has been the center point of a collective dance conducted by people whose lives and livelihoods are choreographed against the yearly migration patterns of this nomad fish. Entire communities who rely more on the trajectory and timeline of the salmon than they might on an actual calendar; folks who lean on the plight of the salmon as the great time-keeper of their whole worlds.
As Walt Kallenberg — my father-in-law and lifelong Bristol Bay commercial sockeye salmon fisherman always says — each fishing season there's a new story. "We just never want story time to end." It's a sentiment that places the salmon as narrator of these yearly sagas, as the axis of the adventure, and the treasure at the end of the rainbow. The dance of its harvest not only nourishes those whose mouths are later fed, but also etches a blend of purpose and pride into the days of the fishers, whose return to the sea year after year is as much a profession as it is a pilgrimage.
This kaleidoscopic relationship to salmon reaches back in time touching so many of Alaska's cultures. From generation to generation, indigenous communities have tended to and been nourished by salmon. All varieties of people beholden to this infinite bond between fish and family. A sacred give-and-take of reverence and reserves.
For communities such as these and families like Arron's, and for practically every Alaskan statewide, the salmon is more than just a fish — it's a focus of their labor and boon of their efforts. A creature whose journey charts their own. A full-circle phenomenon. A powerhouse nutrient. And a delicacy to enjoy.
All of this is to say that my own revised understanding of salmon has blossomed into a profound appreciation and active acknowledgement. A respect for a resource that I know will take care of us if we are unyieldingly committed to forever take care of it.
We are fish people. Our relationship with the fish is why we started Wild Alaskan Company. To us, it is much more than a company — it’s a statement, a point of view, a way of life, and a movement. And more than anything, it’s a commitment to the fish, for which we are honored to have you, dear members, take part.
Live Wild!
Monica
Pictured above: A sketch of mature sockeye salmon, journeying through the sea.
