Back to the AK 3

There has been a long time passing since I've been in Alaska. For a long time, I was wondering if I would get work before June. I missed a small window to get work in mid March due to a shoulder injury that I had to get checked out before going back to sea. Diagnosis, arthritis....

I'm ready to go back to AK. More than going back to AK, I'm ready to work again. I had more than double the time off then I expected to have from this last contract. This new contract is going to give me some opportunities and experiences that I haven't had from the previous two trips into Dutch Harbor. This contract is going to start in Kodiak. Kodiak is located south of the Aleutian Islands, and this new fishery will fish south of the Bering Sea in the Gulf of Alaska. I can not publish the name of the boat due to confidentiality restrictions, but I can say this boat is fishing for Sablefish (Black Cod) and they are a long line fishing boat. There is a chance they could fish using pot gear (the gear seen on the crab boats), but I'm pretty sure they'll be longlineing for this first trip at least. On my first contract, I got on a longline fishing vessel. That trip lasted 45 days straight out at sea. This trip has the potential to have the same duration, but it is more likely to be around 21 to 30 days. This will be a smaller vessel, and I believe the black cod season is shorter than cod longlineing.

Summer fishing!!! There are two very exciting advatages to working in the summer in the Gulf of Alaska verses the Bering Sea. #1, the weather. The weather is going to be much, much calmer then what I experienced out in the Bering Sea last pollock A season in February. I heard testamony from both fishermen and biologists who experienced last season's storms believed it to be close the worse they'd seen. There week long periods where boats were stuck to the dock due to the weather surrounding the port and in the fishing grounds. Summer fishing coupled with being in the Gulf of Alaska will be stark contrast. I doubt I'll see the 30-40 foot swells I saw last season. No more 50 knot winds. Also days that'll last longer than 6 hours. My job is almost too easy.... #2, Marine Mammals. I'll write that again so that it sinks in and you fully understand what it is I wrote. Marine Mammals. Aka whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, of all different kinds. This is the season for them. This is going to be my biggest chance to see them as well. I don't want to jix myself, but there is a close to 100 percent chance that I'll encounter not just one type, but multiple types of marine mammals on this contract. My next post will have pictures of what I've seen. I wont be allowed to show any shots of the boat or the catch, but the marine mammals I will. I'll take some video as well and post a link to the youtube channel that I'm going to start. I have some other video of my time with fur seals on St. Paul (Blog from the first contract in September of 2008) along with video and photos of a group of seals I came upon on a hike up Bunker hill with Everet and Tyler.

Smooth seas, marine mammals, and a new city to experience in Kodiak Island, I'm excited for this contract to start. Of course I'm more excited for it to end, so that I can be home with money in my pocket and the opportunity to spend some leisure time in the sun with friends, but I think this season in the Northern Pacific Ocean is going to agree very well with me. I will keep an account of my adventures just like the other seasons while on board and then post them once I get to land. Don't worry about me. I'm going to be spending the start to the summer of '09 on basically a ride along of a commercial fishing boat in Gulf of Alaska. Sailing waters most people shell out gobs of money to see during a cruise to Alaska. Who knew wildlife biology actually meant biology in the wild and among the wildlife .... I can't believe I get paid to do this sometimes.

Goodbye Society, I'll catch ya' later.


Casey Franklin