Gabe Perkins `28, a junior at Colby College studying chemistry and art history, chooses to spend his summers on a boat rather than in an office, a dream inspired by his high school biology class.
“I was in junior-year bio,” Perkins said, “and I did a project on salmon migration and dam removal. It really got me into salmon and the Pacific Northwest, like Washington and Oregon. But I became interested in Alaska when I heard how strong and healthy the runs were.”
This interest initially led Perkins toward working in a salmon cannery, though the plans fell apart before he was supposed to begin. “Four weeks from graduation, I’m supposed to fly out to work at this cannery, and still nothing from the recruiter,” he said. “I put out a poster board online and was contacted by a captain who said he needed me there within two weeks. That’s when I moved out to Bristol Bay to begin fishing for sockeye salmon.”
Perkins worked his way from a deckhand to a skiff operator. The skiff is a smaller boat that is towed behind the big boat. “The purpose of the skiff is to tow one end of the net out, and the big boat tows the other end,” he said. “Then we hold the net open for 30 minutes, before closing it up.” Hopeful for fish, they “pull in the bottom of the net with a purse line.” Then, Perkins said, “we stack the net back on the deck, and roll the bag of fish onto the deck.”
There is potential to make a lot of money, yet if the nets keep coming up empty, they make nothing, leaving some fishermen in the negative when they go home for the summer. Perkins said his best day fishing was last year at Mountain Point. “We were having big 30-40,000-pound sets, and we filled up the boat,” he said. “Then we went back out and did another 40,000 pounds. Some days fishing makes no money, but there are also days where I have made ten to 20 grand in one day.”
Not all days operating the skiff are as thrilling, though. “I often spend 18 hours a day alone on the skiff, which has given me a lot of time with my thoughts,” Perkins said. One especially grueling day stands out. “I was working on this longliner, and we weren’t catching anything,” Perkins said. “Some water got into our bait freezer, so all of our bait got frozen together. Then my coworker Ed and I had to go down there, and we had to spend eight hours chipping out this frozen bait.”
Being surrounded by ambitious students at Colby seeking summer internships, Perkins wants to shed light on alternative options such as salmon fishing. “I am a pretty antsy person,” he said. “At my first job, they had me scanning documents all day. I just couldn’t do it. So, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to work a normal job, but I love being outside more than anything and enjoying the nature in Alaska.”
Though Perkins has already figured out his career, and is poised to eventually become a captain, he continues to pursue his degree at Colby.
Why?
“Because my parents are teachers, and if I didn’t graduate, my mom would kill me,” he said with a smile.
~ Dallas Watson `28
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