Dutch Harbor Fishermen’s Memorial Nears Completion
A life-sized fishermen's memorial for Dutch Harbor, Alaska honoring lives lost in pursuit of the bounty of the Bering Sea, is nearing completion, according to metal artist and longtime Unalaska resident Karel Machalek.
The idea for a fishermen’s memorial originated when Machalek and his wife, Marie, visited Iceland well over a decade ago, and saw that each of the fishing communities they visited there had its own memorial to fishermen lost at sea.
They decided that Dutch Harbor, the biggest fishing port in Alaska by volume of seafood harvested, needed one as well, said Marie, who serves as vice president of the non-profit Rusting Man Foundation.
The in-progress memorial features life-sized statues of longline, crab and cod harvesters on an octagon shaped, five-foot high base construct...
