Posted by mikehagler on 07/05/2007 2:15 pm

Kia Ora, friends,

 Mike from Greenpeace New Zealand again, on board the Esperanza in the Gulf of Alaska.   Yesterday, we celebrated the Fourth of July, Independence Day, with the community of Old Harbor.  The community is nestled at the end of the long Sitkalidak Strait on the southwest of Kodiak Island, surrounded by foliage covered mountains capped by snow, but no trees (too much wind, I guess).   It's breathtaking!

I use the word 'community' to describe Old Harbor, because that's precisely what it is.   Two hundred and fifty, or so warm, welcoming, friendly folks, about 60 of whom are kids of various ages.  All the kids are known by name by everybody and it is obvious that the kids are regarded as treasures.

The Esperanza team celebrated the 4th with them and what a blast!   I think it was the best 4th of July celebration I've ever been involved in.   It started with a church service at the Russian Orthodox church.  The theme of the priest's sermon was about the central importance of love and service to one another -- the clue that binds people into sustainable communities.   We then headed off for the blessing of the fishing fleet followed by a boat race up down the strait which started in an orderly enough fashion, but deterioated into a free-for-all chaos that was hilarious, even though I was certain there was going to be at least one horiffic collision (that never, thankfully, happened).   Thereafter it was food, frivolity, games and fun all afternoon.   Many of us from the Esperanza joined in and by the end of the day we felt like part of a big family.

However, not all is well with the community of Old Harbor.   Being so isolated, it relies on bringing in the essentials that are needed to survive out here, beyond mere subsistence.   Heavily dependent on oil -- heating and diesel oils -- for heating, electricity and the operation of their boats has meant increasing costs in the face of rising fuel prices.    I couldn't help wondering what these folks would do when the global competition for dwindling oil supplies really heats up and prices hit the $100/barrel mark

Food is also a major issue.   Not entirely subsistence, the community imports most of its food from Kodiak on the other side of the island by boat and that largely canned and processed food.   Of course, there is fish.  Lots of it, you'd think, but you'd be wrong in thinking that.   Yes, fish was once a readily accessible source of protein, micro-nutrients and essential fatty acids for the people of Old Harbor.  Just cast a line from the dock and you had a feed.  Not so any longer.    The draggers (bottom trawlers) have been coming into Sitkalidak strait for the past few years.  they come right up almost to the community's dock in this very narrow strait.  As they fish (if that's what you could call it), the draggers haul up anything and everything from the sea, leaving in their wakes a graveyard on the bottom of strait.   The locals say the strait is dying.  They now have to go out beyond the strait to more remote waters to catch fish to support the community.  For those in the community who have boats big enough to venture that far, that may be fine, although the cost of fuel to do that is now quite high.  For those who cannot afford the boats or the fuel, well, it's not so easy.   One community member described how when you look out your window up the strait and see those big draggers coming right up in front of the village, it makes your heart sick.

This is one of the rationales for the Marine Cultural Heritage Zones that Greenpeace is promoting on our journey to visit coastal indigenous peoples' communities of the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea.   The people of Old Harbor have enbraced the concept enthusiastically.  After all, it makes sense in the face of the senseless.    I'm amazed, but unfortunately not surprised, that Alaskan State authorities allow these draggers into these pristine waterways.  A few make profits while the traditional communities suffer the consequences.  Does anybody care?  Greenpeace certainly does.   That's why we're here.

Sadly, this is not the first time I've seen fishing insanity like this in my work as a fisheries campaigner for Greenpeace.   The story of the people of Old Harbor is being played out in the waters of traditionally dependent coastal communities around the world, especially in the Global South, in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands and Latin America.  Invading industrial fleets from the Global North, from European countries, the U.S., Japan, Korea, Taiwan are stealing the fish from the people who need it most in order to provide a high-priced luxury for the rich in the North.  The locals pay the price, however.   The big  trawlers will move right up in front of the shorelines of subsistence villages and drag the life out of them.   And then, once hauled from the water, the fish start a long migration north to the dinner plates of wealthy Americans, Europeans and Japanese consumers.  Left behind are marine graveyards and the ruined lives of subsistence villagers.    Having plundered their own waters in the North, the global seafood industry is is moving further afield and deeper.    The real declines and collapses of fish stocks worldwide are being masked by the catches enabled by new, more sophisticated technologies and the global sourcing of seafood, creating the illusion for consumers that there are still plenty of fish in the sea.  

But, the people of Old Harbour know for a fact that the fish and the other marine life that depend on them, the seals, and the the orca, have gone away.    And they must wonder, at times, what fate awaits us?  Could we be next?

From the Espy,

Mike Hagler     

Posted by pribilof on 07/05/2007 11:06 am

The day began just about the same as anyother day so far. I woke up early and saw perhaps  one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen, and I have been blessed to see many. As soon as I saw that, I immediately took pictures, uploaded them to my computer and shared one with my Tai yox. It had to be done. And as I learn how to use this blog stuff more, I hope to share some of those pictures with you. In the mean time, I hope you can envision in your minds eye beauty, and here, beyond words. It reminded me of the passage in the Bible, the Gospel of St. John. "The Light came into the darkness, and the darkness understood it not." And thus our day began.

As we were coming ashore, anticipations of the day was the chatter aboard our little rib, our inflatable boat we use to travel between the ship and the villages. Some villages do not have a large enough dock, nor is the water deep enough to handle our ship. Although this dock in Old Harbor seems like it can handle our ship, caution is taken, and with good measure. And so we ride our rib. The crew and I yell to be heard over the noise of the engine, excited and full of anticipation. What are we going to see and do, afterall, today is a special day in our country. Today is Independence Day, the 4th of July. And we are in Old Harbor, Kodiak Alaska. Old Harbor by any standards is a small community of about 200 people. What could happen here in such a small out of the way place that could even rival a celebration in other larger more cosmopolitan communities. Little did we know.

Immediately upon arrival we headed straight to the Three Saints Orthodox Church. We were told the day before that the day would begin with prayer. Prayer for peace and prayer for the blessing of the small fleet of commercial salmon fishing vessels, preparing for the upcoming salmon season. As we were walking down the dusty street of our host village, I reflected upon something which brought much comfort and understanding about things in life for me. Someone in our group commented that it is good to take "time out" of our busy schedule to pray. I thought, yeah, that is good. Then my thoughts wandered. It seems we are as a society always concerned about time. Time for this, time for that. We are so accustomed to filling in time with activity, rushing here and there, hurrying. We are taking "time out" of our busy lives to pray. Hummm...to me its like, we are taking "time out" of our prayer lives to work. That to me seems like how we should approach our lives, daily and weekly, monthly and yearly. For prayer allows us to see clearly how well we live and work.As we celebrated and prayed in the Church, the Priest mentioned in his litany that the Lord also blesses the crew and our ship the Esperanza. And this is again where I found thankfulness, that yes, we are being cared for. People care about us, and here in Three Saints Orthodox Church on the 4th of July, in Old Harbor, the love blossomed! "For the crew of the Esperanza, we ask for safe journey, good works and a safe passage back home!" And the people responded in unison, "Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy." And we stood in silent reflection with peace. We are not taking "time out" from our busy work schedule to pray, but rather, as we seek questions and hard to come by answers to the problems every village up to now are facing, as we listen and teach, answer questions and see, we are taking "time out" from our prayer to work. For that prayer for our journey follows us every moment, from now until.....

And we met with the current and former Chiefs of the Tribe. Where? On the door steps of the Three Saints Orthodox Church. We interviewed, listened and asked questions. We are engaged in the same mission, asking our leaders of our Country to listen, to pray with us, and to help protect us. Protect our food, our way of life, and share mutual respect. Please, do not allow anyone to hurt us any longer. Peace is, well, sorely needed. The dark clouds of pain have weighed heavily upon our villages for so long, sometimes it seems just a way of life. And you know, and I know, that is not true, nor must we accept it as normal. Whats normal is health, and good health, physical and spiritual, emotional and environmental. Thats normal. And we chase normal with thrist. We pray for peace, for the world, but maybe, more so for ourselves. To seek always to do good, practice good and teach good. Unless we combine efforts without egos, doing such work prayerfully, we may find that the dark cloud hovers oh so dangerously over our planet we call Earth. In peace, let us pray.....Until next time. George