We are sailing thru a bountiful area in terms of natural resources. Historically, large numbers of people were engaged in harvesting these resources, but that population peaked in the 1920's as roads and trucks altered the economy of resource gathering. No doubt the fishing used to be better, as we have seen old black and white photos showing hundreds of boats gathered in one bay. On this trip, we have seen several dozen fishing boats but nobody seems to be actively fishing. They may be making their way up to Alaska for the salmon or halibut seasons.
Some small scale resource gathering is occasionally evident. The image at the top of this post shows a surprisingly elderly guy gathering oysters. That is hard work. It is also common to see where crab pots are set in the water, and no doubt many of these are from commercial crabbers.
Larger scale natural resource activity is seen everyday, but it is not overwhelming in scope. The trees here grow straight and tall - exactly what the lumber industry needs to charge top dollar for. Back in the day the British Royal Navy reserved some areas here as sources of wooden masts for their ships. Now one can easily see the lighter green swaths of trees where timber has been harvested. Less often we see recent clear-cuts, sometimes scarring the ridges with their ragged profiles. There is little 1st growth timber left, especially in accessible areas. The large floating log booms of yesterday are not around anymore, instead logs are transported on huge barges towed by tugs. Timber harvesting requires far fewer people these days.
All manner of commercial ships are seen on passages of water that constitute the "marine highway". Ferries, cargo ships and fishing vessels are commonly seen - but there are not as many as you might think. We have seen tugs towing large barges filled with gravel.
One thing we do see a lot of is aquaculture. Generally, this takes the form of black PVC enclosures that occupy small inlets. Each enclosure is approximately the size of a swimming pool. There is no signage indicating the names of the operators or what the facilities are dedicated to growing. We think they might be raising oysters (on strings) or salmon. In contrast, no farming on land has been seen on the trip.
We have also not seen any evidence of freshwater gathering, even though there are waterfalls gushing down the sides of these gorges. Perhaps this will be a future resource to be tapped for a thirsty world?
