New NWIFC Magazine: Quinault Fisherman Adds Sardines to Net

Isaac   Ellingson, Quinault Indian Nation fisherman, helps lay  a  purse  seine  on  the  deck  of  the Catherine  Kate  during  a  sardine  fishery in the Pacific Ocean. See Page 5 for the story.
Isaac Ellingson, Quinault Indian Nation fisherman, helps lay a purse seine on the deck of the Catherine Kate during a sardine fishery in the Pacific Ocean. See Page 5 for the story.

We just posted our new magazine and it includes a story about the Quinault Indian Nation’s sardine fishery this year:

“They can totally sink your boat,” Haataia said. “You have to be watching all the time – if it’s too many fish or if they start sinking the cork line, it means they’re diving and you have to be ready to let them go.”

The fisherman is in his second year of fishing for sardines, but the fish are much more dispersed this year than last. A spotter plane helps fishermen locate the skittish schools of fish, with each fisherman paying a portion of the pilot’s cost.

You can download the entire magazine for free here.