The Skeena
Gaelan and Alicia Noble-Kats are a young fisher couple who have had an unconventional journey into the industry. Both are new lingcod and halibut fishers and do not come from a family of fishers, which is common on the West Coast. Instead, it was their passion for the lifestyle that brought them to fishing.
“I just love the whole lifestyle.
Gaelan Noble-Kats
“Ever since I was a kid…[other] people are like, ‘Oh, I want to be an astronaut. I want to be a firefighter or whatever.’ I wanted to go fishing,” Gaelen told West Coast Now in a video interview.
It all began eight years ago when Gaelan flew to Alaska on a whim to pursue his dream of fishing. There he found a job gillnetting, and he hasn’t looked back since. “I just love the whole lifestyle,” he told us.
Alicia began a career as a junior biologist, originally coming along with Gaelen on his fishing trips before deciding to get more involved. “You don’t get to see as many animals as when you’re out fishing … What I enjoy the most is being outside,” Alicia said.
“It is a little bit challenging that we don’t have the generational knowledge of everything.”
Alicia Noble-Kats
They just bought their own boat, Miss Jane, with the help of their skipper and have been thriving with the assistance of their fellow fishers.
“It is a little bit challenging that we don’t have the generational knowledge of everything. We haven’t been out since we were children, and we don’t have all the experience we’ve had since we were 16, which is most of the fishermen here,” said Alicia. Luckily, “the community is so welcoming, which is nice.”
“Everyone’s been so helpful and encouraging,” Gaelan chimed in.
