Daniel Miller is Dillingham’s new harbormaster. Miller joined KDLG’s Christina McDermott in the studio to introduce himself and talk about what to expect at the harbor this fishing season.
Christina McDermott: We are joined in the studio today by Daniel Miller, our new harbormaster in Dillingham. Hi, Daniel!
Daniel Miller: Hello!
McDermott: Or, is Danny better?
Miller: I typically go by Danny, but I go by anything really.
McDermott: So why don't you introduce yourself?
Miller: Well, as you said, my name is Daniel Miller. I grew up here in Dillingham, moved here when I was about six weeks old. So I know the town, know the people.
I had been living in Fairbanks the last few years until the city reached out to me and asked me to be the harbormaster this year - or asked me to apply.
McDermott: So what should people know about the harbor this summer generally? Any good information?
Miller: It's going to be a little bit different than it has been in the past. The eastside docks are going to be a little bit shorter. We're going to be a little bit short on space this year, due to one of our floats not being in great condition. [We’re] not able to use it at the moment. And then, as of now, our crane is still not operational. I'm hoping to get it repaired so we can use it for you guys this summer, but we'll see what happens.
McDermott: All right. Yeah, going off those floats. There are four floats, right?
Miller: Six total - two on the south side and four on the east side.
McDermott: Okay. And I know that two of them have been sent out for repair or were repaired.
Miller: They are repaired. We just picked up the second one on Monday last week, I believe. And both of them are in the water now. And they look like they're holding up really well.
McDermott: That's great to hear. And then another two are under a process to find bids to repair?
Miller: Yeah, we haven't actually started that process yet. It's kind of an off-season project after the season's over. Right now we're focused on getting everything working right for this season.
McDermott: Good to know. All right. Any reports on the ice machine?
Miller: Nothing new yet. I did just speak with someone this morning about potentially taking another look at it. We already have an opinion on what's wrong with it. Someone reached out to me and offered to give a second opinion. So we'll see where that goes. As of now, it's not looking like anything's going to be done with it this year, but that could change after I meet with this person.
McDermott: That's good to know. Anything you're excited about for this season?
Miller: Really I'm just excited to be back home and around the people that I grew up around. I've gotten a lot of support from the locals and it feels good to be back. And I hope that I can do a good job for everybody - both the city and fishermen and locals in general. Just excited to be here.
McDermott: Good to hear. And if anybody wanted to contact you or reach out, what's the best way to do that?
Miller: [The] best way to do that is call the harbor office. I'm still working on schedules for me and my employees. But we will definitely be there seven days a week, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. [I’m] hoping to extend those hours a little bit. But the harbor office phone number is 907-842-1069 or we standby on VHF 16.
McDermott: Great. Thank you. Thanks for coming in!
Miller: No problem. Happy to happy to be here.
Get in touch with the author at christina@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.