The Russian Orthodox and Old Believers can normally be found tied up at the harbor in Dillingham on Sundays when the religious group, mostly from Homer, takes a rest from fishing for their Sabbath. They also take a rest on special holidays.
Even in the midst of an opener, with fish running, many of the Russian Orthodox crews place faith over fish. The colorful boats with the distinct dark tinted windows of the orthodox fleet are easy to spot in the harbor. They are taking a rest day to celebrate a religious holiday to remember the lives and sacrifice of Saints Peter and Paul.
Dennis Hannon sports the traditionally untrimmed beard most Russian Orthodox men wear. He fishes on the F/V Cruiser. He says in the orthodox tradition, Sundays and holy days shouldn’t be used to benefit finically.
“You know, it’s a big deal. There are a lot of people that could use the extra pounds or the extra money but at the same time it will all come back to you in the end, if, I guess, you believe,” said Hannon.
Hannon is up from Oregon for the season. Interwoven with the religious reasons is the desire to keep the orthodox culture strong. He says a lot of the culture is already lost. This is one way to hang on.
“Being in the states you are exposed to so much of a different lifestyle… slowly religion would be lost…..what it really means,” said Hannon.
Most of the orthodox fish for Icicle Seafoods. Angela Christensen is the office manager for Icicle in Dillingham she says the company doesn’t treat the Russians any different then say, the seventh day Adventist when they take Saturdays off. She says it just takes a little extra planning.
"We just make sure our tenders are well fueled. We usually have an extra, or just have a service tender standing by for jus the extra traffic for when they come in and leave," said Christensen.
Dennis Hannon and the rest of the crew on the Cruiser may not fish on religious holidays but they’ll be ready to get the nets out again at midnight.
“Start the day….catch the fish.,” said Hannon.