A curated photo exhibit, The Salmon Way: An Alaska State of Mind, featuring the work of award-winning photographer Amy Gulick, is on display at the Seattle Aquarium through August.
The exhibit, based on a book of the same title, features photography and stories celebrating the ways of life in Alaska that Wild Pacific salmon make possible.
The exhibit is a partnership of the Seattle Aquarium and Braided River, publisher of the 2019 Gulick book “The Salmon Way: An Alaska State of Mind.” The book includes photos of a diversity of Alaskans living the salmon way of life: Alaska Natives, commercial fishing families and sport fishers.
Gulick spent five years venturing to Alaska to explore the web of human relationships that revolve around wild salmon. Created as part of the 2019-2022 International Year of the Salmon celebrations and in collaboration with Alaska conservation organization, SalmonState, the photographs selected for the exhibit show how Alaskans everywhere share and celebrate the gift of wild salmon with their families, communities, cultures, and with the world.
“We’re thrilled to share Alaska’s salmon way of life with the world via the “Salmon Way” exhibit at the Seattle Aquarium,” SalmonState Executive Director Tim Bristol said. “In Alaska, we’re lucky to still have healthy wild salmon runs that support Indigenous and coastal communities, sustainable commercial fisheries, and world-class, world-renowned sport fishing and recreation.”
“It’s our hope that people who visit the “Salmon Way” exhibit leave with an appreciation for what we still have in Alaska — and get involved in our work to ensure that Alaska remains a salmon state,” Bristol said.
The exhibit also highlights the deep-rooted ties between Alaska and Washington state. Today, many salmon populations in California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and southern British Columbia are less than 10% of their historical abundance. Some populations have gone extinct. Causes include habitat destruction, hydropower dams, overharvest, and hatcheries. The exhibit showcases Alaska, one of the world’s last places where abundant runs of wild Pacific salmon still exist.
More information about the photo exhibit is available at seattleaquarium.org/exhibits/salmon-way.