Herring Choking in the Apostle Islands, November 2006
| Any picture with a time and file size underneath it is linked to a Windows Media video. |
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My first experience choking herring was aboard the Wolverine II which is owned and operated by Joe Duffy and Ben Gustafason. I first met Joe and Ben when I worked aboard their boat this last summer as part of the Lake Superior Pathfinders program. I really appreciate their patience with helping the "newby" pick fish from the net, sharing experiences, and friendship.
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| The Wolverine II at Bodin's Dock |
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| Joe Duffy | Ben Gustafson |
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We left the dock on November 10, 2006 at 6:15 am and made the 90 minute run from Bayfield to the east side of Madeline Island near Big Bay. Joe and Ben had set six 3-in stretch measure 800-foot midwater gill nets 12 feet below the surface the day before.
Each gillnet was lifted with the help of a mechanical net lifter that was run by Joe on the starboard side of the boat. At the same time he was "driving" the boat along the net, at times helping pick fish, and singing.
The net, with fish in tow, was laid out across a "picking table" where the remaining crew (in this case, hired hands Bruce Johnson and Fabian) picked herring from the nets.
The herring are "picked" from the net by pushing them through the mesh if the fish is small enough or "backing" them out of the net if too large.
The herring were stored in "boxes" and the net and floats were carefully placed in a box.
After all fish were removed from the net, the net was set back into the water. This process was repeated for the rest of the set nets.
Once all nets had been picked and reset the boat was headed back to Bayfield and, along the way, all fish were dressed. Dressing consisted of removing the "guts" with a very sharp special dressing knife. The eggs were separated from the guts as they have commercial value.
Once back in Bayfield the dressed herring and the herring eggs were sold to Bodin's fishery. On this day 1100 lbs of dressed herring and 110 lbs of herring eggs were harvested. The fishermen received $0.25 a lb for the dressed herring and $3.50 a lb for the eggs.
Herring Introduction
