Pelican, a small fishing town in northern southeast Alaska, is home to a tiny population of just under 80 people. Mainly consisting of fishermen, including Marie (Rose) from Shoreline Wild Salmon. Rose is not your average fisherman. She is a 25 year old, gentle, free spirit, born and raised in Michigan. She breaks the mold of what a typical fisherman living in wild Alaska looks like.
Rose in Pelican, Alaska
Rose came from a fairly conservative family consisting of two older brothers. She was always a little more eccentric than the rest of her family. Passionate for social issues, specifically women’s rights, she studied Social Work at Michigan State University.
One summer, during college, it was on whim that she volunteered to drive with her friend to Alaska as a road trip buddy. She planned on staying a couple weeks and ended up the entire summer. She found a job working for an environmental non-profit on various campaigns that aimed to conserve salmon habitat throughout the state of Alaska.
Her love for salmon was unexpected and immediate. She didn’t want to stop. She got offered a job after graduation and her passion for salmon has only grown. Being in this business, along with her zest for music, led her to meet her current partners Keith and Joe at a local open mic night. Keith owns the Shoreline Scow, which is a floating troll fish buying tender (Scow is the Dutch word for barge). The scow is an operation that has been historically female run for 31 years.
Rose had never seen a fishing operation run with the impeccable care like Keith and Joe’s. Joe catches each salmon one at a time by hook and line. Each fish is then cleaned and iced immediately to maintain the highest quality. Rose admired them as ethical fishermen and was inspired to work beside them.
Rose and Joe in Pelican, Alaska
Following her first season on the scow, Rose and the team shipped their first inventory of salmon to Detroit. Shoreline Wild Salmon was born and is rooted in bringing the highest quality hook-and-line caught Salmon to the markets. They believe in responsible sustainable management of Alaska’s salmon resource and protection of Alaska’s pristine salmon habitat. What is sustainable salmon? It’s salmon that’s managed and fished using practices that ensure there will always be more to catch in the future.
There are times when Rose doesn’t feel like the inspiration most of us view her as. She works very hard and struggles at times, like the rest of us. Doubt and the unknown are a common recurrence for any entrepreneur and no stranger to Rose. To keep going, she remains true to her heart. She truly believes in sustaining the best quality wild salmon so others can share in the fruits that wild salmon has to offer. She also has an incredible ability to trust in the universe that allows her to live with ease and take each day as it comes.
Rose claims that her ability to flow with life has allowed many doors to open, leading to where she is today. She is proud to be bringing salmon from Alaska, a state she’s grown to love immensely, back home to Michigan. You can find Rose and her team (which often consists of her mom and dad) during certain seasons of the year selling Shoreline Wild Salmon at local markets such as: Detroit’s Eastern Market, the Dexter Farmers Market, Saline Farmers Market, Chelsea Farmers Market, and Ypsilanti Farmers Market.
Keith and Joe selling Shoreline Wild Salmon at Eastern Market, Detroit
Follow Shoreline Wild Salmon’s facebook page to find out where you can find their salmon. Watch to learn more about Shoreline Wild Salmon and what it is like fishing for wild salmon in Alaska.
