I always to try to research any area I go waterfowl hunting in whether it is historical regions, restaurants or famous places to have an adult beverage coinciding with the area. As I studied the makeup of the Pribilofs and read of the history of the two inhabited islands of the five; I became intrigued with the native Alaskans that lived there and their history. Called Aleuts; they actually derived centuries ago from the Unangan tribe of the Aleutian Islands. I was familiar with Saint Paul only for the reason I am a rabid “Deadliest Catch” fan. For those reading this unfamiliar with “Deadliest Catch”; it is a television show about the true life stories and saga of Alaska’s crab fishermen and Saint Paul Island has a cannery there that processes crab fresh off the vessels.
The population of year round residents living there is roughly in the low 500’s; but more importantly and more in numbers is the Northern Fur Seal. It is this species of seal that made Saint Paul Island famous. In the late 1800’s, the Russians discovered there was monetary value in the skins of these beautiful animals. They “hired” native Aleuts to round up and harvest these seals for their pelts only. Although later the United States bought Alaska from Russia; I was amazed to still see the Russian influence on the island. Almost all of the natives I met there had Russian last names and most if not all practice and worship in the Russian Orthodox Church. In my opinion it is the one piece of structure there other the cannery that defines Saint Paul and is iconic. A beautiful house of worship with a light green roof and golden globe adorning the top of it that makes it stand out.
My gunning crew for the week would consist of six being myself from Texas, Tom from Louisiana, Shawn and Brian from Kentucky and Craig and John from Maryland. We had made a contentious decision to arrive to the island two days early to make sure ourselves and our gear arrived in time for the full week of hunting. I still think that was one of the smartest things we did due to the severity of the weather and only one airline flying there. It gave us two days to explore the island on our own and time to get to know each other for better or worse. We had a nice place to stay, a vehicle to drive around in and much to do. One of the lasting memories of my trip and Saint Paul Island is that when we stepped off that plane onto the runway; it smelled of the sea and the sweet smelling odor of very fresh seafood…..Opilio crab to be exact. There were several crab boats in the harbor offloading their catch and they are promptly processed, cooked, frozen and packaged to travel all over the world for people to eat. On the menu you will always see the famous King crab but when you see the entrée Snow crab; it is actually Opilio. Since Capt. Charlie still had the previous weeks crew using the lodge for their last two days of hunting; we bought meal passes from the cannery galley and ate there two days. The cannery employs several hundred people easily and is a round the clock business. As most things on a remote island it was slightly expensive but it was buffet style and you got all you wanted to eat. We met and dined with people from all over the world who worked in that cannery. Needless to say it was quite an experience and one I relished. I just had no idea the quality of cooking we would eat there and more so at the duck camp.
Saint Paul is a privately owned island and run by the Aleut Tribal government and TDX; a corporation that is native owned as well. Almost everyone there is employed by the city, the tribe the cannery or TDX. They have one store, one hotel, no restaurants, one church, and believe it or not a baseball field. Last but not least; although they cannot sell hard liquor on the island, they do have a very nice establishment that sells wine and beer, has darts and pool and an occasional classic rock band. I was intrigued with Saint Paul……still am, and I will return one day. I have to. The Aleuts I hunted with and or met while I was there were very kind and gracious people. As one of the Aleut ladies I met there who works for the tribal government and has made award winning documentaries, Aquilina Lestkenof says about the island, “People come here and they say, that’s in the middle of nowhere. But in reality it’s in the middle of it all.” Not a truer statement that I agree with wholeheartedly!!
These are just a small sampling of pictures that were taken while I was there but it’s a good indicator of what the island is like. I loved it!!! There is a quick video within this link that has one of the native Aleuts describing Saint Paul Island:
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