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“You don't come to the end of the road unless you are looking for something.“
And Sarah has certainly found something special. Community.
Meet Sarah Braund, who came into her own as a commercial fisher after her father passed down a commercial fishing permit to her when she was only 18. Today she is so much more than just a wild salmon commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay, Alaska, she's a single mother to two teenage boys, has a Doctorate in Anthropology, and in the off-season is a motivator in her self-built yoga/fitness studio in Homer.
"There is a feeling of salmon love. To hold healthy, beautiful, vibrant, sockeye in my hands is a gift. I am honored to have the opportunity to experience something so special, so delicate, it's indescribable and worth protecting for future generations."
This year's (2022) salmon run in Bristol Bay, Alaska was nothing short of epic. The largest ever, with a record total run of 79.0 million sockeye. On June 30, fishermen in the Nushagak district harvested more than 2.4 million sockeye in a single day — the most in the districts 130 year history.
The watershed supports the largest sockeye salmon run in the world, producing about 46% of the world's wild sockeye harvest. The sustainable commercial fishery continues to be managed for future generations.
Learning from her life experiences, Sarah consciously gives her sons' the opportunity to follow their own passions and interests while also sharing with them her love for fishing and the outdoors. Sarah exemplifies XTRATUF because her perseverance and self-reliance have created her own quiet and humble success that motivates her to keep going, to keep doing, and to find joy, no matter what comes her way.
To discover more and learn how you can support Bristol Bay, Alaska please visit:
https://www.utbb.org/ or https://www.savebristolbay.org/
Follow Sarah on Instagram at: @sarah.braund
Photography: Axel Peterson
Fishery data sources: