An Instagram image from the Salmon Project’s #babysalmonlivehere campaign.
Earlier this summer in Sitka, major battles were staged over the state’s commercial fisheries during meetings of the Board of Fish and the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
But one small non-profit is hoping to steer Alaskans toward more unity in their relationship to fish — especially salmon.
Zoe Styron works for the Salmon Project, which she says is not an advocacy organization.
Rather, the group wants Alaskans to look past the fighting, and toward the things residents all love about salmon.
“What we aim to do is to shift discussion away from some of the areas of conflict which usually plague discussions about salmon, and to shift the emphasis on positive elements of salmon — what we all have in common. Alaskans love of salmon, how it touches their lives, and the relationships that people have with salmon and with other people and Alaskans based around salmon.”
Styron is in Sitka this weekend (August 7-9) for the Sitka Seafood Festival. But, she won’t be setting up a booth. Instead, she will mix it up with festival-goers, distribute t-shirts, listen to salmon stories, and encourage Sitkans to participate in a crowd-sourcing project online.
“We have a number of challenges that are running over the summer, where people will take a photograph, post it on Instagram, and tag it with #babysalmonlivehere. And that will populate a map that we have on our website, of the whole state, showing all the places where baby salmon are, and being able to view the pictures, because they’re out there in the places that you least expect.”
Styron is a relatively new arrival to the Salmon Project. She’s spent the summer traveling the state: to the lower Yukon to observe the chum and king runs, and to a remote set-net site on Kodiak Island.
She says it’s been a crash-course in what her organization calls “Salmon Love.” The Yorkshire native believes Alaskans have more things in common than differences, and that residents ultimately rise above the polarizing politics of fishing.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s not a battle, because there’s so much love out there for salmon. People truly associate salmon with being Alaskan, so it’s part of who they are and part of this place we find ourselves and that we live in. People have been here for generations, it is part of who they are. And the connections to salmon run throughout the state. Whether it’s recent transplants like myself, to people who have been here for hundreds or thousands of years, salmon is part of that life.”
Learn more about the Salmon Project, and find a link to the interactive “Baby Salmon Live Here” map, here.
This is the sixth year of the Sitka Seafood Festival.
