The salmon that is caught in the Yukon River in North-West Alaska is the oil-richest salmon (healthy, beneficial oils) in the world. These oils give the fish its exceptional flavour. The species caught here are the Keta (Chum) and the King (Chinook). After the eggs have been deposited at the source of the river (just across the border in Canada) and the weather improves, the tiny salmon swim downriver to the open sea. Seeing how the 3200-kilometer Yukon River is the longest river in Alaska, this trip takes some time. But as soon as the fish taste salt water, they start eating and rapidly gain size and weight. The Keta salmon spends some 4 to 6 years travelling the Pacific Ocean, to finally return to exactly the same river where it was born. And as soon as it tastes sweet water the Keta stops eating, to travel upstream to the precise spot where it was born. Some researchers have shown that they actually return to a spot within 10 centimetres of where they first hatched. The Yup‘ik Eskimos start fishing as soon as sufficient numbers of fish have passed through the mouth of the river to ensure a new generation of fish for prospective seasons.

The Keta and King salmon from the Yukon River are not only extremely flavourful, but also exceptionally healthy. Because the river that awaits them is so long, the salmon is very fat when caught. Consisting only of healthy Omega-3 fatty acids, it gives the flesh a very soft texture and an incomparable flavour. An interesting detail for health freaks: a single salmon portion for dinner equals no less than 10 fish oil capsules!

Emmonak is a small village on the west coast of Alaska, inhabited by some 900 traditional Yup’ik Eskimos. There a few other even smaller villages in the vicinity of Emmonak, and then there's the wide open wilderness for a long, long time. The village can only be reached by air, and then only if you're not afraid of landing on a sandy runway in a small propeller plane. The village has an unemployment rate of more than 90%, making it one of the poorest communities in the United States. The only source of income is fishing, but there are just a few months of that each year. For the rest people live off nature, just like many centuries ago.

By Bart van Olphen

On 25 July 2009 I chat to Maxine (28) in Alukanak, a ‘fish camp’ close to Emmonak.

Bart: “Since when have you been a fisherman?”
Maxine : “I was 9 years old when I first went fishing with my dad, here in Alukanak, close to Emmonak. I bought my first license when I was 14 so I could earn my own money through fishing. Soon after I bought my first ‘skiff’, which is the traditional type of boat we use for fishing. This small site here is full of huts that were built a few dozen years ago. My ancestors used to visit this place only in the fishing season, which is how the fish camps came to be. Later Emmonak became a real village, but I've always stayed on here.”

Bart: “What do you do outside of the salmon season?”
Maxine: “In summertime it's a party, with tons of fish and daylight practically 24 hours a day. But temperatures start dropping from September on, and by October the river has already frozen over. The days become shorter and we wrap ourselves in all kinds of animal furs to beat the cold. We get our sustenance through hunting rabbits, hares and moose. In the wintertime we fish local white fish for our own consumption. For that we use the traditional technique of sawing round holes in the ice and running nets beneath the surface.”

Bart: “And how about work?”
Maxine: “In all of Emmonak and surroundings there are 42 formal jobs, mostly with the government. That leaves more than 800 people without a job. But we're accustomed to that, in the summer we earn money by catching salmon and in the winter we live off hunting and our summer's savings. Fortunately we can now market our fish in Europe and our income has increased. But if the winter weather starts acting up again and the ice starts shifting like two years ago, then we're in for some serious trouble. That time, we didn't even have wood to warm our huts with.”

Bart: “What's your favourite way of eating your Keta salmon?”
Maxine: “It's a Yup’ik tradition to place the whole salmon, with skin and all, on the BBQ, and to let it cook on a low heat so that all the delicious flavours stay in the fish. Then we sit around the fire with family and friends and use our hands to eat the salmon.”

Elsevier, Johannes van Dam, 2009
“Fantastische vis”

Financieel Dagblad
“Duurzaam zit gewoon bij die mensen in het bloed”

Quote, 2009
“Recessie? Niet op de Noordpool”

Trouw, 2009
“Duurzaam vissen is een manier van leven”

Elle Eten
“Eten=weten”

Delicious
“Meer duurzaam gevangen vis”