From Boat to Table: Local woman gives Jackson a bite of Bristol Bay

JACKSON, Wyo. — At peak summer season, if she’s lucky, Jess Normandeau will get around four hours of daily sleep.

During the other waking twenty she’s got one thing on her mind: the best sockeye salmon in the world.

The best job for ten months of the year

Since 2016, Normandeau has traded in valley summers for the grueling, yet rewarding work of a deckhand on commercial fishing boats in Bristol Bay, Alaska — the largest commercial sockeye salmon producing region in the world.

But after six years of scrubbing the deck, Normandeau is moving up — in the spring she bought her own boat and for the very first time, she’ll be captain this summer.

Originally hailing from Vermont, Normandeau got involved in the commercial fishing industry because like the rest of us, she wanted to spend her winters skiing.

“I just wanted to be a ski bum and work hard during the summers.”

So, Normandeau found a way to make that happen.

After graduating college, she landed her first gig as a deckhand by cold calling and emailing everyone she knew who was remotely involved in the business. She knew she had to start somewhere, and in this case, it would be doing the most labor-intensive work on the boat.

“People say it’s the best job in the world ten months of the year, but the worst job in the world for the other two. It’s a two-to-three-month season of super hard work.”

Jess Normandeau

This year as the captain of her own boat, things will look different.

“Being a deckhand is really physically taxing. I won’t be doing much of the physical work now that I’m driving the boat.”

But that’s not to say it won’t be intense.

“The actual fishing is really stressful as a first-year skipper, it’s a tough job, you’re working around the clock and it’s a steep learning curve.” 

In Bristol Bay, skippers are predominately male. In fact, Normandeau will join a group of female skippers that represent just one percent of the skipper population. The role comes with some pretty hefty responsibilities.

“I have to be a diesel mechanic and an electrician. On top of that, I also have to know how to manage people and take care of my crew. I have to find fish and be intelligent in reading tides, waves and weather patterns. You have to wear a lot of hats as a commercial fisherman.”

But wearing a lot of hats is Normandeau’s style, and she’s seemingly good at it. Like a secret weapon, in tow with her is an unbridled sense of optimism, despite the potential for some rough waters ahead.

“You just have to jump in, you’ll never be prepared, you just have to do it.”

3,000 miles away, three friends aboard

While it will be undoubtedly challenging, Normandeau will have two experienced friends on board to help tackle whatever five weeks of commercial fishing may bring.

Think, Jackson Hole is to the skier as Bristol Bay is to the fisherman. It’s extreme and it’s no joke.

The area is deemed one of the most productive salmon ecosystems in North America and once you land there for summer, it’s showtime.

“What makes it stressful as a fisherman is that a season is so short. I’m there and back in two months and only on the water for five weeks. So, if you miss four good fishing days that’s a big loss of income.”

Sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay are especially desirable because they are some of the highest quality fish in the world—they feed on phytoplankton, are rich in vitamins and omega 3’s, and live their whole life in the wild. They are also vibrantly red in color.

“The second the fish hits my boat I have what’s called a refrigerated seawater system. The fish go in ice-cold water underneath the deck and get flash frozen. They stay frozen from the second they die to the moment they are on someone’s plate.” 

Lucky for folks in Jackson, this salmon could end up on their own plates come October.

That’s because this year Normandeau is running her first sockeye salmon exchange, coined “Slipstream Sockeye.” She’ll be selling 20-pound shares, in filets or portions. Orders close in just two short weeks.

“Selling fish is really fun and a great way to engage with the community. It’s something I’m so psyched and proud to do.” 

In October, locals who purchased a share can pick theirs up conveniently in town where they can shake the hand of the woman who caught it herself, on a long-haul summer job, at the cost of many sleepless nights, some three thousand miles away.

This article was originally published on June 2, 2022 on buckrail.com.