@driftersfish

Drifters Fish

Nelly & Michael Hand

F/V Pelican

Cordova, AK | Anacortes, WA

What does Alaska mean to you?

Alaska is home, wild and delicious. It means hard work, it means long days where your hands ache from the hundreds of fish you've hauled on board. It means nourishing wild food and the best damn fish I've ever eaten in my life.

F/V Pelican

We fish on a 31-foot commercial gillnetter called the F/V Pelican. It's a seaworthy little boat where we haul fresh fish over the bow and have small living quarters in a cabin over the stern where we sleep on a small bunk over the engine. We've been fishing this boat for about five salmon seasons now. This spring we took a few projects on and installed a new hydraulic system on deck and a solar panel on the roof of the cabin.

“Always kiss the first fish and tell it thank you."

I learned to fish from my family. My dad raised my siblings and I on the back deck of our family seiner in Prince William Sound. My mom taught me how to cook fish for the perfect crispy skin and how just a squeeze of lemon and sea salt brings out all the flavours of brilliantly red sockeye salmon. My brother and I each run boats of our own now. I’m still learning so much from my family about the endurance and patience it takes to be a fisherman.

What's your favourite dish?

Wild salmon, over a smoky campfire outside. My favourite way to eat it is hot off the grill when it melts in your mouth, so rich and flavourful. “Our crew is just the two of us!" We're a small boat and every fish we catch is carefully handled by both of us, making sure our customers have delicious food to eat at home.

“Our crew is just the two of us!"

We're a small boat and every fish we catch is carefully handled by both of us, making sure our customers have delicious food to eat at home.