Inside Alaska

Novels of Life, Love & Danger in The Great Land

MM Travis

“Wild Caught” Salmon – What Does That Mean?

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The definition of “marketing” is telling telling people what they want to hear, see, and believe. And the word “Wild” is what people look for when seeking sustainable salmon. But “wild caught” only means “not farmed” — well, not completely. Here’s the breakdown for salmon:

Wild – as in no human or hatchery has touched them until they are caught.

Wild Caught – probably hatchery raised, possibly diseased, but not kept in a pen all their lives. They were bred in labs and hatcheries, subject to diseases and manipulation, then released as smolt to compete with and infect truly wild runs. These hatchery salmon are overproduced and because they are, they compete with ALL species–salmon, birds, everything that depends on what salmon eat. Natural wild salmon are returning smaller, with far less fat on them because of the overproduction of hatchery stock. It’s a serious global problem.

Farmed – don’t get me started. Farmed fish is filth. Even cats won’t eat it. Please don’t poison yourself and don’t support this misbegotten industry. #farmedsalmon #wildsalmon #alaskansalmon

Third Person, Please

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I’m ready to beg. My reading history is sprinkled lightly with first-person stories (Mary Stewart was a favorite) and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ (which I read after seeing the movie) but lately I have to look at ten books before I can find one written in third person. And I prefer omniscient.

I love the opportunity to read a short sample because many storylines (blurbs) catch my attention. But I always read the first page now before adding the book to my lists or diving in: just enough to confirm that the writing isn’t first person, because I can’t read it, and in my opinion, many writers don’t write it well. Or, not well enough for me to read.

Unfortunately, I “hear” screaming narcissism in first person and I can’t take it. And poorly written first person does not succeed in bringing me into the world enough before making me, the reader, the active character. I am not the character and I don’t want to BE the character, nor do I want to read her diary. I want to read about the character’s journey and I want an omniscient view of the scenario, not a limited first-person view. Not even if the writer swaps POV, because now I’m TWO people? I don’t think so. Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar cured me of ever wanting that.

I found a great trilogy recently that I’ve read at least twice and I’m pretty sure I’ll read it again: The Boonsboro Trilogy. The writer tingles all my delights: rough and realistic characters (and dialog) doing real world contemporary jobs, who have relatable problems and (slightly more intimate detail than I like) relationship issues. Oh, give me more!

Books I’ve Enjoyed – My History

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I can’t seem to find a place to write about the books I’ve read, and my reading preferences, so I’m doing it here. Although this won’t be in date order, I’ll start with Nancy Drew (and the Hardy Boys, because I just couldn’t get enough to read as a kid) and every cereal box and milk carton put in front of me. I thank the universe for libraries.

Throughout school, I read what was required in English classes and usually didn’t like it. I hated sentence structure and grammar and still do. I use software and proofreaders and am putting in considerable effort in writing better because I blocked it all out in class. I started enjoying sci-fi in middle school, with a book called “The Universe Between.” The last sci-fi I read, and I have it on my ‘read again’ list, is Project Hail Mary. But my first love as a teen was historical romance, and I read and re-read them endlessly.

Growing older, I loved Johanna Lindsey and hers are the first books I remember reading (outside of Nancy Drew) in a series. I particularly loved the swashbuckling stories of love on the ships and oceans. Looking back, I see a theme 🙂

From romance I moved to women’s fiction. I believe I’ve read everything Rosamunde Pilcher’s written at least three times, and ‘September’ remains one of my top 10 reads. {Her inclusion of} the poem ‘Death is Nothing At All‘ by Henry Scott Holland stays with me today as a philosophy I believe in 100%.

From there I segued into the action genre, with authors like Robert Ludlum and Clive Cussler. But it was Clive’s co-writer in the Sam and Remi Fargo stories, Paul Kemprecos, that I really enjoyed. Romance, with a couple that (other than their wealth) came through the pages as real, combined with action, in lands I’d never see, described so well that I felt I’d been there. And then came MM Kaye. I collected her paperbacks, and still have them, and have probably read them ten times.

Because by then I’d learned that I like learning, including learning about new places. And I’d moved to Alaska from thousands of miles away, so I could relate to the sense of adventure of traveling across the globe.

But chick-lit called when that genre started, and women’s fiction. I still loved historical, reading Agatha Christy (Miss Marple!) and watching Poirot because of David Suchet, but I started reading almost anything I could get my hands on. And that’s when (and this was a transition I fought) I started reading eBooks. The opportunity to check out books from any remote location I happened to be in was too appealing. The library and its statewide digital collection called and my reading tastes expanded. More on that soon. What part of all this can you relate to?

Hatchery Science Proves Damage to Wild Salmon

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From the Wild Fish Conservancy, more evidence of the horrible impact of hatcheries: https://wildfishconservancy.org/our-debt-to-the-river-the-scientific-case-against-industrial-salmon-hatcheries/

… the five billion hatchery salmon released annually don’t supplement wild returns—they actively supplant them.

The path forward, then, is not to continue funding a failed experiment but to change course based on the clear evidence. The most critical and immediate step is for fisheries managers to significantly reduce hatchery releases in regions where they directly compete with and replace wild fish populations. This means prioritizing the health of wild, self-sustaining runs over artificial production targets that degrade the entire ecosystem.

It also requires supporting organizations that advocate for wild fish, speaking up at public fishery management meetings, and sharing this science with our communities. Wild salmon have always fulfilled their responsibility to the river; it’s time we fulfilled ours to them.

Aurora

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The inspiration for the cover of Aurora Bay came from my own photos and memories of aurora (Northern Lights) in Alaska. This is from last night, in Seward, Alaska. The funny thing is, this isn’t what *I* saw. The camera lens captures much more than the eye can see. What I saw was a pinkish haze. Often the green is far more visible to the naked eye. I have, however, seen colors like this, standing on the top of Flattop Mtn in Anchorage, late one night, many years ago.

The mountain shown here is Mount Marathon, the same one runners race up every 4th of July.

Have you seen Aurora? Have you noticed the difference between what’s visible and what the camera captures?

Seiner Podcast

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Great images, with some video, and insights into the Thunder Bay Seiner Series:

See Alaskan commercial fishing salmon seiners working, boats, live salmon in the fish hold, an plenty of scenic shots.