Bold choices defined journalist and fisherman Nick Rahaim’s coverage of the battle over fish between whales and fishers, from writing a long story on a niche topic in the first person to reporting on an industry in which he also works. But his account, which took second place for outstanding small-market feature story in the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 22nd Annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment, made those choices work, said judges, who added. ”Rahaim must be commended for the balance he strikes that allows readers to leave the story both informed as well as engaged.”
SEJournal Online recently caught up with Rahaim by email. Here is the conversation.
SEJournal: How did you get your winning story idea?
Nick Rahaim: I was a deckhand on a longline vessel for sablefish in the Gulf of Alaska in 2013. A pod of sperm whales followed our boat for a week and ate nearly all of the sablefish off of our hooks, a phenomenon known as depredation. With the catch going to the whales, we were losing money while working 20 hours a day in bad weather. As frustration grew, the guns came out and my captain and crewmates began firing at the sperm whales. I was appalled but had no recourse in the moment, being the new crew member. The experience motivated me to undertake numerous investigations on fisheries’ impacts on marine mammals, including this story.
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