First 3-G and now drones. Technology is making it easier for Bristol Bay fishermen to connect with potential customers. KDLG spoke with one boat captain who has enlisted some aerial help to market his catch.
If you hear a little buzz in the air at the boat yard this summer, don’t worry. It’s just business.
When he’s not captaining the Bucko out in the Bay, XanderJamieson is sometimes piloting his drone overhead.
It’s a fun toy, but more importantly, it’s a useful tool. Jamieson uses some of the video he captures to help sell the salmon that will find their way into his nets. His mate, Haley Payne, says it helps connect people to the food they’re buying, closing the nearly 4,000 mile gap between Bristol Bay and their home farmer’s market in Virginia.
“They don’t understand, they’re just like ‘oh, so fish happens’. So we tell them about it. And we have a little bit of seine net out, even though we don’t fish with a seine net, they enjoy it. And we tell them about the process and what it’s like to be on a boat for however many weeks at a time, potentially without showers or bathrooms anything like that. And they’re just fascinated.”
We’ll have more from the crew of the Bucko and efforts to market Bristol Bay salmon in the Lower 48 on this week’s Bristol Bay and Beyond, which airs at noon and 6:30 pm Friday.