Adam Dixon: from fisherman to professor

Adam Dixon, associate professor of Globalization and Development, had a busy life when he was studying at university. He was a first-generation academic and did not receive funding for either his master’s or his PhD. To help cover his costs and tuition, he had to work alongside his studies.

His main source of income? Commercial fishing in Alaska.

While Adam himself is from Colorado, he met someone at university in Washington DC during his first year who came from an Alaskan fishing family. That’s how he was introduced to the trade. “I usually spent a few months a year on the boat, fishing for salmon or herring in Prince William Sound, South East Alaska, Kodiak Island, Chignik, and Togiak. It was decent money and exhilarating work. Moreover, I got to see spectacular scenery and wildlife that others have to spend thousands on to see.”

“Fishing is not as idyllic as I make it sound though,” Adam laughs. “Sometimes we’d work for a few weeks straight and only get few hours of sleep per night. If you complained, you were told that you had all winter to sleep!”

“I’ve seen people get on the boat thinking they had what it takes only to leave after a week. I don’t blame them. The work is mentally and physically demanding. I saw several ‘tough guys’ struggle to hold back tears. But sometimes that was because they got smacked in the face with jellyfish. Although bycatch is not an issue in fishing for wild salmon (Alaska has some of the most sustainable fisheries in the world), we’d sometimes haul up tons of jellyfish. When stacking the gear (the net) on deck, hard winds would blow the red tentacles of the jellyfish right into your eyes. It’s like rubbing habanero on your face. But you just grin and bear it. You have to get hurt badly for the operation to stop.”

Adam himself only had one notable, but still minor, incident. “I had to go to the emergency room once because a metal rod hit my face. Fortunately, it was during herring season when we used a spotter pilot. So, I caught a quick lift to the hospital in Kodiak in the back of a two-seater Super Cub. All stitched up,  I was back on the boat in a couple of hours.”

Regardless of the hard work and at times discomforts on the boat, he feels that academic work can be more physically demanding. “Sitting at a desk all day hurts!” Adam exclaims. While he sometimes misses life on an Alaskan fishing boat, these days Adam is content with what our region has to offer. “The Heuvelland doesn’t offer the same wilderness as Alaska, but cycling here with the wind at my face still feels like paradise.”

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