Pollock Provides

Pollock provides many needed benefits to our communities in western Alaska. Our 8,700+ residents in our region all have been touched by the Bearing Sea Pollock fishery in positive manner with CVRF's programs and projects. Without Pollock, many of our programs would not exist or would be significantly decreased. Many people do not realize that the benefits we help provide are from Pollock.

Pollock has provided our region with many wonderful and needed benefits to its people such as; Internships, Training, Scholarships, Salmon Processing Plants, Halibut Processing Plants, Fishing Tenders, Fisheries Support Centers, Apprenticeships, Heating Oil, Marine Safety, and of course, as well as hundreds of jobs for its residents.

Below you will find actual letters from residents of our twenty communities about how Bearing Sea Pollock has positively affected their lives.

How the CVRF Project Helped My Family

One way the CVRF pollock helped my family was with the haullywood project. I think last year was the first year my family participated in it. Anyways the wood we got last us a long time, which was good. See I like to take steam baths and in order to take a steam bath you need wood. So last year I was mostly buying bundles of wood from the local store, then ik heard an announcement on the VHF (a VHF is a radio that villages/villagers use to communicate, kind of like very strong walkie-talkies.) saying that CVRF was going to be giving out logs to resident of the village.

I was very happy to hear that. Then the bundles of wood ran out at the store for some time. So for a long while we had no bundles of wood at the store and the price of stove oil went up. So when my family heard of a family that wasn’t able to afford stove oil to heat up their house we cut up some longs and brought them to that family so that they could be warm. Then when I wanted to take steams we would use the wood to heat up the steam house. I know this story is supposed to be about how pollock helped my family, but it also helped us help another family.

I am also proud to say that I took a steam bath every other day last year thanks to the haullywood project. It helped my family and I have good hygiene I really hope to continue to keep that project going.

Nicole C. M.

My husband and I were and still are happy for the Pollock Provides Program and for the one drum of stove oil that was donated to us from CVRF.
Before then, we were struggling with the high price of trying to keep our home warm, along with the groceries that we could not always afford due to our low in-come budget we were making at that time. We were only able to purchase 10 or 15 gallons of stove oil, and other times having to charge small amounts of stove oil in between two weeks, which then left us with little money to spend on food.

And when we found out that the funding had went down at my husband’s job, meant that he would no longer be getting paid and he was then placed at working under a voluntary position, meaning no money for the hours he earned. He didn’t like that at all then became upset and worried about trying to keep our house warm. The weather wasn’t helping us during this time. Everyday was getting worse and worse from the constant blizzards outside our home. We then started to keep our Toyo-stove at 70 degrees, hoping that was the best way to prolong the stove oil that wouldn’t heat our house to the warmth we so desired for our children. We didn’t know that there was help until we found out about it.

That day when we received that one drum of stove oil, we became so relieved and so happy, and the weather on that day was just cold and stormy. After filling up our drum, we still had a little more to spare…we turned up the thermos stat and our house became much warmer, our children even became happier, knowing that now they wouldn’t wake up cold in the mornings anymore. They used to wake up and go straight for to the Toyo-stove and sit right in front of it wrapped up they’re blankets.

We are very thankful for the help and support in the most time of our need. Our home became warmer and our drum is still yet full with a little more to spare in another container. That day all our worries and struggles with stove oil were placed at bay. We thank you Pollock Provides Program and CVRF for that one drum of stove oil you gave us so freely. We are very thankful from the bottom of our hearts and for the smiles that you’ve give us.

Sincerely,

Ignace & Mary C. M.

Letter of Appreciation

A very BIG THANK YOU to CVRF/Tuntutuliak Traditional Council for the trail markers that lead out of Tuntutuliak to Bethel that were put up by the Tuntutuliak Traditional Council search and rescue volunteer team. The trail is very well marked and very easy to follow. The markers are a very huge help to travelers out here in the villages. I thought about writing this letter of appreciation on my way out to Bethel over the weekend. I actually felt very safe and calm knowing that I was on the right trail without ending up in another village as that happened last winter.

As always, a whole lot can be accomplished when everyone works together to make things happen. I found out that it is a lot safer when traveling with someone else who knows the trails well like the back of their hands. A reminder to everyone who plans to travel anywhere. Please let someone know where, and when you would be traveling, where and what trail you would be using as it would be a great help to whoever comes out to find you if you ever get lost or break down. Always take some food, extra warm clothes, lighter or matchers, (to light a fire), tarp for shelter and a thermos. (Hot tang works) I really hope that everyone traveling has a very safe and enjoyable winter. It can be done.

Once again, thank you very much to the Tuntutuliak Traditional Council Search & Rescue team and to CVRF for the well marked trail.

Jackson N.