A herring rake was swept through a school of densely concentrated herring, and the fish were impaled on the tines.

A skilled raker could fill a canoe with herring in a short period during a good run.

Herring were rendered for their oil and dried for winter storage.

The herring fishery was a mass-harvest operation that required specific equipment and specific timing knowledge.

The offshore waters of Cape Alava also supported fishing for rockfish and other species using hook-and-line methods from canoes, and the intertidal zone provided shellfish, sea urchins, and other marine resources that supplemented the diet year-round.

The combination of whale hunting, salmon fishing, halibut fishing, herring harvesting, and intertidal gathering created a diversified maritime economy that was both highly productive and resilient.