A few dozen fishermen and ComFish attendees gather as the trade show starts to wrap up. This year, there are nine competitors in the novel race.
Julie Matweyou, who helped bring the Fishermen’s Showcase back, introduces some of the rules for the event.
“In the past we’ve enforced disqualification if you fall in the water,” Matweyou told the crowd.
It’s about a 20 foot fall from the dock.
Competitors coil several yards of line, tie some different fishing knots, and throw weights tied to line while aiming for wooden blocks, simulating hooking a fish or crab pot. They also tie a buoy to a rail, or in this case a folding table after about a 10 yard dash. Time stops when competitors finish putting on a survival suit.
Longtime fisherman and KMXT’s Alaska Fisheries Report host Terry Haines provides color commentary.
“Darius with his racing suit – he’s waxed his feet for this event!” Haines joked with the crowd. “And he is catching up!”
There were some snags, which Haines turned into teachable moments, like with one competitor’s survival suit.
“Your hood is a little under,” he said to the competitor. “This is a very common problem for those who actually use the survival suit in real life.”
In the end, Parry Nelson won with a time of just 2 minutes and 19 seconds, but all the competitors won a knife just for trying.
Many of the events are either everyday parts of commercial fishing, or relate to what fishermen should practice in case of an emergency.
Ellen Simeonoff is the executive director of Kodiak’s Chamber of Commerce, which organizes ComFish.
“I see this as a critical element of our commercial fishing community,” she said. “It’s something we should showcase and highlight and maybe help educate people a little bit more about and shed light on commercial fisheries.”
She said she hopes to make the showcase more of a centerpiece next year.
