On our evening walk yesterday, a point of land that is normally deserted was alive with activity. We walked over to see what the encampment was about.
The land here is part of the Swinomish Indian Reservation. Thousand Trails leases from them and all fishing rights belong to the Swinomish. When we got to the top of the point, the fishermen were gathering in a huge net.
We watched for about a half hour as the gathered net got smaller and the pile of floaters got larger. They periodically tossed crabs back into the water that were caught in the net.
These two men pounded a huge stake into the ground to affix the next net being spread out while the fish from the first net were unloaded into bins on the beach.
All hands worked swiftly to free the fish from the netting and toss them into bins.
The catch is pink salmon.
It they happen to net a king salmon, like this prize, they set it aside. Maybe for the harvest celebration party. The Swinomish own a fish company and all proceeds are shared. This point is not the only spot they net salmon. The catch was not big this year according to one local observer.
This is a once a year event and we were glad we just happened to catch it.
The bin was loaded on a truck to be processed. From the number of bins, the work must have gone on all day. Then surprise, when we began our walk back, the tide had come in and we had to slog through water to get back to the park.
I will resume my China blog tomorrow.
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