Alaskan Fisherwoman travels over 4,000 miles to visit Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre
Selby LeBlanc took a tour of the museum and the Ross Tiger
An Alaskan fisherwoman has travelled over 4,000 miles to visit the Fishing Heritage Centre in Grimsby
Selby LeBlanc took a tour of the museum and the Ross Tiger. Selby is from the port city of Cordova, and is a deck hand on salmon fishing boats. She came to Grimsby to learn more about the area’s maritime history. She was fascinated to hear all about it from tour guide, former skipper, Robert Mogg.
She said:
“In Alaska we are very proud of our fishing history and I know this town has that same culture,” she said. “I had heard about Grimsby through a friend and always wanted to come.
“I have absolutely loved it and can’t wait to come back,” she said. “You can see the history and culture in the fabric of the buildings and it’s amazing.”
Selby has been in the industry for four years and in the summer works on a salmon tender – a mid-sized boat that collects fish from smaller gillnet vessels when they reach capacity at sea and transports it to a processing plant.
She said there are five types of Alaskan salmon, which gets processed and goes out into the world in ways from oil to fillets.
At other times of the year she goes longline fishing in the Gulf of Alaska - a method where a long main line is deployed with numerous baited hooks attached at intervals – with two months off in the winter.
The worst conditions she has experienced are 30ft seas and 35 knots of wind. She added: “Alaskan winds can be really gruelling – overall it’s very cloudy and rough.”
Her aim is to become a captain and buy her own boat.
“I have quite a few female friends who are captains. It’s a lot of pressure and responsibility but I think I would be good at it,” she said. “I absolutely want to own a longliner and fish for halibut and black cod.”
She said being a woman in the industry could still be hard and there were captains who would refuse to have females on board. However, she added: “The captain I have now does nothing but encourage me and teach me.”
Meanwhile two new exhibitions have opened in Grimsby, highlighting the rich history of the former fishing town.
The 'Our Past on Paper' and 'Streets of Grimsby' installations are based at Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre - and include everything from paper objects to a music video produced by a local artist.
We've been chatting with one of the volunteers who helped put it together - Christine Jackson
"There's just so many amazing things that have not been seen for years which is a tragedy
"So this is a really good opportunity to put some of the things out that we've found so far and to remind people of the history of Grimsby."
The free exhibitions will open to the public on Saturday.