The weather has been crap this November. Normally, Sept. and Oct. are the nasty months, with Nov and Dec a little better. This year it was kind of just the opposite.

I went hunting with my inlaws, and we only go out to where we would like to have gone in the boat on one day, when we got 3 deer. I was dropped off on an island near town one day, and did not think I’d see much. Instead, I called in two bucks, but could not get them as by the time I could tell they were bucks it was too late. Both deer were in the woods, where it is always dark and my eyes ain’t what they used to be either.

I went hunting here behind the house one day. I almost stepped on a deer, and only did so because I had started up a stretch of incline in one direction, then backed up as I thought I was off the trail, and when I started in the new direction, there was the deer. Never got a shot off. By the looks of the tracks, it was a young deer.

Went hunting over on Admiralty yesterday on a very nice day. Walked along some beaver ponds where the beaver were very active. Saw some freshly gnawed trees with big chunks laying around as if someone took an ax to it. One tree was a 18 inches to 2 feet at the base, and I was surprised a beaver would take something that big on. Didn’t see any deer, but enjoyed exploring some new country.

President is sending in more troops to a far off land, to prove he’s a man I guess. Not sure how we expect Afghanistan to turn out any better than Iraq. Looks like much tougher terrain, and a lot less developed than Iran. Then we’re supposed to “hand over” security to them in 2011. Problem is, I haven’t heard them requesting to provide security. Maybe they won’t want to, and then we’ll blame them for our invading their country. I can only hope we get this one right but think that’s a faint hope. Spending another 30 billion for 30,000 troops on top of all the other money spent. Someone will get rich off this for sure, but it won’t be the 20 year olds we’re sending over to fight.
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Mark Stopha
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

http://www.instrument.dn.ua/GNESVqoK8U.html

From Mali back to the Arctic Ocean, where it is in the 20’s, with a slight breeze and about 4 inches of snow on the ground. We saw a sow and 2 cubs in the water as we drove by on our way in. Lots of fox tracks around our camp. Ice is setting in and I’m guessing this may be our last hitch for the summer. Most of the boats have been pulled from the water already. It seems alot colder than it is and must be from coming so soon from Mali. Good to be back here, though, for some reason.
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Mark Stopha
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

I returned to West Africa after a 20+ year absence, traveling to Mali for Winrock International to do some volunteer fish consulting. When I arrived in Bamako, I was not greeted by a barrage of military wielding (likely) unloaded rifles. Instead, it was an orderly check-in through customs in the tiny airport. My host Bara met me and we drove into the city to my hotel. The roads were good – another unexpected treat.

I met an American woman doing her graduate work in Mali. She and her husband, a Malian welder, live in Ithaca, NY – and as it turns out, right near my aunt’s pet grooming place. In fact, they had bought a leash there for their dog, and my aunt remembers them well. Turns out another Winrock Volunteer had attended Cornell as well, and had grandkids there – one of which this couple knew of. Small world as always.

After a few days in Bamako, we drove up country to Mopti, the central fishing center of Mali. There were some striking scenes along the way. Herders tending their flock with a motorcycle nearby – the Chinese have exported a $600 motorcycle here that is affordable to a good portion of the Mali public. They are everywhere. In Bamako, the air quality is actually poor from so many of them. Village women pounding grain in a mortar and pestle as someone nearby talks on a cellphone. Crews coming up from the roadside, digging a trench by hand for the internet cable stretching across Mali. Large communications antennas climbing to the sky over a village of adobe houses. Healthy kids playing. Healthy I assume due to the clean drinking water they have. Welcome to Africa in the 21st century.

I met a few Peace Corps Volunteers along my travels. Funny to hear them say how much they respected us old timers who were volunteers in villages with no running water, electricity, internet or cell phones.

I spent 3 days with extension agents talking about how we take care of fish on board our fishing vessel in Alaska, and how we handle, process and package fish. My first day, I met with the governor of the Mopti region, replete in their military-looking uniforms. The governor took time on the Saturday to “close” the workshop, dressed in a smart African suit, still carrying around our canned salmon products I’d gifted him. He was intimately aware of the issues facing his fishing industry here, and I was duly impressed, knowing our governor or even mayor of my state and town would not come close to knowing this much about our fishing industry.

One of the interesting aspects of the workshop was the idea of some there that we had some magic chemical that we put on our fish to keep them fresh in Alaska. When I assured them we did not, but just kept the fish clean and cold, I think I could see the lights going off, as they have ice and clean water here, also. So it’s just a matter of implementation.

I could spend all day watching the Bozo tribe – the fishermen in Mali – build boats. They even make their own nails, preferring the hand-made square ones to store-bought round nails. Their Venice-like pirogue boats were a thing of art and beauty, hand built with hand tools that themselves where hand made.

The African Market was all that I remembered. People dressed in colorful West African garb. Hawkers everyway hawking everything under the sun. Flashlights. Slingshots. All types of fish. Bread. Praying mats. Jewelry. You need it, they probably got it.

The best part of the trip so far is I’ve been sick very little. Other than a bout of diarrea, I think again it’s the good drinking water.
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Mark Stopha
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

Lots of bears around. The one that was within a few hundred yards from camp is now within site of our worksite, and less than a 100 yards away. And she’s a big mama, as we saw today. On our way to do training on the west side of the field, we saw a single large bear cruising on a barrier island. And on the way home, we saw the sow with cubs, all with a 5 in paint on their back, again.

Also, we stopped in at an old trading post today. I think the site is at least 100 years old. Lots of cool outdoor equipment around – traps, fishing and camping gear, etc. Caribou hides on the floors. Old magazines, etc.

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Mark Stopha
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

The sow polar bear with two young cubs is now right below a nearby bridge. She moved to the other side of the gravel causeway when the wind switched. The polar bears hunker down in a depression, or they did them out (I’m not sure which) and could easily surprise a person if they didn’t know they were there. A security person is on watch of the bears 24 hours a day. They don’t bother the bears unless the bears wander somewhere that could cause a problem with people, and if that happens, they may make noise, etc. to get them to move on. This sow seems more at ease everyday with people and traffic, and I suspect she’ll stick around until she gets hungry and has to go hunting.

We also went and picked up a German woman from a cruise ship today (cruise ship name “Bremen”). She may have an appendicitis. We pulled up along the small cruiseship, and she stepped over to our boat, where medics interviewed her on the way home to see how she was. When I got home, I saw the AP had already covered the story in the papers/news. As we pulled away, I wasn’t aware till I looked up that much of the passenger population was out on the upper decks watching us. As we waved goodbye to them, the ship bade us farewell with two long blasts. Apparently, these ships traverse the Arctic Ocean from east to west, but I haven’t checked out their actual voyage route yet.
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Mark Stopha
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com