Salmon Fishing during COVID-19

By Nick Baca

June 13, 2020

Callused hands hold the beginnings of a tangled net caught in a mess of buoys and fishing equipment spewing from Kris Warfel’s fishing locker at Bellingham’s Colony Wharf. Readying the nets and stocking up on food usually fills up Warfel’s time as he prepares for the salmon fishing season in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Now, a stack of forms and a box full of cleaning supplies await his attention.

As the summer fishing season fast approaches, the state government and the fishing industry are establishing new regulations amid calls from local communities for increased protective measures due to COVID-19.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy deemed Bristol Bay essential in early April. This commercial fishing hub held an estimated value of $300 million in 2019. Home to the largest sockeye run in the world, the fish caught here are sold internationally, helping create roughly 12,000 jobs in 2010, according to an economic report by University of Alaska. But this year, the influx of people that congests Bristol Bay during the summer has local communities worried.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game estimates a total run of 49 million salmon for the 2020 season and Warfel, a fisherman of 39 years, doesn't want to miss out.

“Every year it's a different story and this COVID thing seems to be the story this year,” he said.

Warfel has fished commercially in Bristol Bay since 1979 and predicts the turnout of fishermen this season to be the same as any other year.

Warfel and his two crew members face a list of new requirements before they can actually start fishing. All fishermen traveling into Alaska must wear a mask while in transit and must self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. While in quarantine, each person must record their temperature twice a day for any signs of symptoms. Captains must also keep a log documenting the health of their crew members and know how to handle an ill crew member.

To avoid contact that could spread the disease, sturdy cranes will lift bags of fresh salmon from Warfel’s boat and place it on tenders boats belonging to Trident Seafoods, one of 11 processors operating in the area. Warfel doubts his crew members or himself will get sick.

“The crew never leaves the boat. The only thing we do is pass a card back and forth to make an imprint that it’s my fish and my weight,” said Warfel.

Once salmon leave the boats of Warfel and others, companies including Trident Seafoods, Peterpan Seafoods and North Pacific Seafoods take that fish back to a factory to be processed and distributed, a place where more COVID-19-related measures apply. Trident Seafoods did not comment on any actions the company is taking to avoid outbreaks of COVID-19.

Ben Schoelkoph, maintenance foreman for Icicle Seafoods and former maintenance foreman for North Pacfic Seafoods, said every employee coming from out of state has to test for the virus before traveling to Alaska. Once workers arrive at the facility, they are not allowed to leave.

“If people are caught leaving the property, they are actually fired on the spot. There is no forgiveness right now,” Schoelkoph said.

The new safety measures are more expensive for the company initially, but they protect the health of employees, the local community and promote overall food safety, Schoelkoph said.

Additionally, Icicle Seafoods has one designated person allowed to leave the property to buy personal items for employees, “basically putting together a shopping list,” said Schoelkoph.

At the Red Salmon Cannery in Bristol Bay, owned by North Pacific Seafoods with whom Schoelkoph used to work, around 420 employees will be housed and fed this upcoming season.

While these protective measures ensure that the fishing industry in Bristol Bay continues to function, the local Naknek and Curyung Tribal Councils and the town of Dillingham still have numerous concerns.

“Our communities will be the first impacted by the massive influx of processing workers,” said Alice Ruby, mayor of Dillingham, and Thomas Tilden, first chief of the Curyung Tribal Council, in a letter to Gov. Dunleavy.

All companies with employees coming from out of state are required to submit a plan outlining how they will maintain “critical infrastructure” during COVID-19, according to an Alaska health mandate.

“We should not have to rely on the courtesy of industry to be included in such a critical exercise,” said Ruby and Tilden in their letter to the governor.

Ruby is concerned about preventing the spread of the virus as it enters a community that can’t be reached by roads.

“We are in a generally remote area of Alaska with limited access,” said Ruby. “Air access to isolate someone who was exposed would be difficult if not impossible. I really think that prevention and avoiding exposure has been our first priority.”

Alaska has not issued a state-wide stay-at-home order, but cities like Anchorage and Dillingham have taken their own actions. In Dillingham, Ruby declared a state-of-emergency and activated an emergency operation center. These measures, along with increased sanitation practices and a new requirement to wear a face mask in public places are aimed at lessening the stress on the small number of medical facilities in the area.

Ruby and the City of Dillingham have been in contact with indigenous communities, the state government and the fishing industry since the start of the pandemic. Communicating with the different entities was frustrating at times, said Ruby.

Residents of Dillingham feel that the state government did not sufficiently assess the hazards of the Bristol Bay fishery and left the area unprepared to deal with the potential risks.

Although plans for the regular fishing season in Bristol Bay continue, some further precautionary measures include the cancelation of a visa program which connects fishermen from Ukraine, Moldova and other parts of Europe with Bristol Bay, said Schoelkoph. This also affects the ability to grade fish eggs, a service brought to the bay from Japan.

Warfel wonders if the pandemic will weaken the price of fish for the upcoming season, which is still uncertain.

As plans move forward for fishermen and as local communities look toward Gov. Dunleavy, Warfel plans on acting like nothing has changed.

“When we go up there, I pretty much am going to do the same thing I always do,” said Warfel.