At the annual Blessing of the Fleet in Dillingham on Saturday, June 22, 2024, a bell rang out for 97 lives lost fishing in Bristol Bay. The event is a memorial and a sendoff, with prayers and good wishes for men and women getting ready to start fishing sometime this week.
This year, a new Harbor Day event before the Blessing of the Fleet also focused on keeping the people who are going out for the season safe.
Around 200 people are gathered on shore at the Dillingham Harbor. They were there to remember those who died fishing in Bristol Bay — and to give this year’s fishing fleet a good sendoff.
Behind the crowd, fishing crews are already getting their boats ready for the season. Pastors from seven local churches offered prayers for safety, good judgment, and a good harvest.
Pastor Simon Flynn, of the Dillingham Moravian Church, led the opening prayer. “We pray also, Lord, that there would be plentiful fish and a fair price,” Flynn said.
After the prayers, a choir sang in English and in Yup’ik. Then, dancers from the Curyung Wolverine Dance Group shared another blessing for the fleet.
Bailee Olson, 16, and Savannah Hiratsuka, 14, were two of the dancers. Like the tolling of the bell, Olson says their dancing also honors the lives lost on the water in Bristol Bay.
“When you dance you go into the spirit world to see your ancestors and you are performing for your ancestors, and so I think that's part why they wanted us to dance today too so we could dance for our… so the people who have passed in the bay could see us,” Olson said.
The dancers also shared their hopes for the fishing boats going out this year.
“I hope we get lots of fish this year!” Olson said.
“Lots of fish and hopefully we can repopulate the kings,” Hiratsuka said.
This year, the Blessing of the Fleet was paired with a new event called Harbor Day, an event organized by Dillingham fire and rescue to introduce fishermen to safety resources.
Dillingham residents and visitors enjoyed hot dogs, drinks and desserts donated by processors Silver Bay Seafoods and OBI Seafoods, and local stores Bigfoot LGM, L&M Supply, and AC Store. Organizers said they served 600 hot dogs, with at least 250 guests.
Local musician Teresa Duncan performed, and one couple danced: Keith Caldwell, 90, and his wife Connie Scott waltzed up and down an impromptu dance floor.
Caldwell was back in Dillingham for the first time in 30 years. “It was a different world. Little nostalgic, you know? It was just great to see the area again,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell first came to the area in 1946, when he was 13 years old. “I spent a winter with my uncle up on lake Aleknagik. Did not go to school that year. And built a cabin.”
The next year, he went to school in Dillingham. He came back in 1954 after a stint in the marines and built a cabin of his own. His uncle’s cabin went to local Russell Nelson. And the land where his cabin once stood became the Bristol Bay Lodge.
For kids, Harbor Day meant waving balloon animals, trying out the fire hose on the fire truck, and playing with puppies up for adoption at the Dillingham Animal Shelter.
But for fishermen, the event was also an opportunity to get familiar with the safety resources at the dock. Those include CPR training, first aid training for boating injuries, blood pressure checks, and information on preventing drownings.
Leticia Swift is an organizer with the local fire and EMS department. She’s here handing out free Narcan kits for reversing overdoses. She demonstrated how to use a Narcan nasal spray.
“The important thing is one dose of Narcan first, 911 second, another dose of Narcan if they’re still not breathing,” Swift said.
Data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health shows that from 2013 to 2022, overdoses were the leading cause of death on commercial fishing boats. Swift asked all boats to make sure they had Narcan aboard.
“We have heard many calls for mayday over the last couple summers. We encourage every single captain and fishermen to carry Narcan with them on their boats in their vehicles at all times,” Swift said.
She says carrying Narcan can save lives even on boats where no one is at risk of overdosing.
“If they get a call they can toss their kits of Narcan over to the other boat. The best thing about Narcan is if they are not in an overdose the Narcan isn’t going to do anything to them,” Swift said.
Pastor Flynn prayed for the safety of the fleet. But he says he is also excited for fishing crews to start fishing. “It’s also wonderful to see all the fishermen have come in and all the boats that are ready to go out and fish, and we’re just looking forward to a good season this year.”
As the event drew to a close, the mood was celebratory. Grown ups chatted. Kids played on a jungle gym overlooking the Nushagak Bay. Behind them, boats were already on the water, getting ready for fishing to begin.
