Artist turns fish ear bones into jewelry

  • By ALLIE NIELSON
  • Saturday, August 9, 2014 9:50pm
  • News

JUNEAU — A local artist’s work allows you to wear fish ears on your ears.

Sandy Darnell, a retired commercial fisherwoman, continued her love of fishing and now creates earrings and pendants out of the hard, roughly circular fish ear bones called otoliths.

“I bought my first boat out in Elfin Cove in about 1985,” Darnell said. “That summer, I helped run the fuel dock with a few other ladies and that’s how I got interested in otoliths.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Otoliths have distinct shapes and sizes, depending on the type of fish they’re extracted from. And, much like rings in a tree, otoliths provide scientists with the information needed to determine the age of a fish. These differences cause natural variation in Darnell’s jewelry, which she sells at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center and the Bear’s Lair downtown.

In the beginning, Darnell would primarily get her otoliths from fishermen who would trade fish for the finished product. She affixes gold nuggets and different gems to the otoliths to create unique looks.

“I would get rockfish from guys that would come in from charters or the lodges,” Darnell said. “I would do customer orders from fishermen and the fish they caught. They would pick out the design and the (gems) that they liked.”

Eventually Darnell opened her first shop in Elvin Cove where she would continue to receive otoliths from both fishermen and cold storage.

“I get a lot of my halibut otoliths from cold storages,” Darnell said. “The interesting thing with halibut is they don’t get terribly big. The biggest I’ve seen from a 200-pound halibut was about the size of a nickel. Rockfish, however, get proportionately bigger. A pair from a large rockfish is almost like a potato chip.”

It is because of the otoliths’ varying sizes that Darnell is restricted to using only those from halibut, rockfish, cod and eelpout.

“Salmon (otoliths) are very small,” Darnell said. “The only ones in salmon that are big enough come from 40- to 50-pound fish and we don’t come by them too easily.”

The process of retrieving an otolith from a fish isn’t easy, either. When fishing season is in full swing, Darnell tends to have somewhat of a otolith shortage for her craft.

“(The reason is because) it takes some effort,” Darnell said. “Like at the cold storage, they cut where they head the fish is very close to where the (otoliths) are. So often they will fall out but most often them get scooped into the garbage. But it takes time to get them out, wash them, dry them off and save them. It takes some effort and in the thick of the season they don’t have the time to devote to do that.”

While Darnell may be experiencing a temporary shortage, her earrings and other otolith jewelry is still found around town.

“It’s an enjoyable business, not a very big business but it’s been worth staying in,” she said. “Folks seem interested. Occasionally I’m at the JACC rearranging, bringing in new products, and there will be tourists there and they get a big kick out of it. I have a lot of fun with those folks. I enjoy any tiny part to enhance their experience while they’re here.”

More in News

Attorneys Eric Derleth and Dan Strigle speak to Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson during the opening arguments of State of Alaska v. Nathan Erfurth at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Opening arguments offered in Erfurth trial

The trial is set to continue for around two weeks, into early August.

Evacuees in Seward, Alaska, walk along Adams Street following a tsunami warning on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Tsunami warning canceled following 7.3 earthquake near Sand Point

An all clear was issued for Kachemak Bay communities at 1:48 p.m. by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management.

The Ninilchik River on May 18, 2019, in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Ninilchik River to remain closed to king salmon fishing

It was an “error in regulation” that would have opened the Ninilchik River to king salmon fishing on Wednesday.

A table used by parties to a case sits empty in Courtroom 4 of the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski woman sentenced to 4 years in prison for 2023 drug death

Lawana Barker was sentenced for her role in the 2023 death of Michael Rodgers.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Seward resident arrested after Monday night police pursuit

Troopers say she led them on a high-speed chase on Kalifornsky Beach Road for around 7 miles.

Concert-goers listen to The Discopians at Concert on the Lawn on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Karen Hornaday Park in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
‘Dancing at the end of the world’

KBBI AM 890 hosted their annual Concert on the Lawn Saturday.

Lisa Gabriel unfurls a set beach seine during a test fishery for the gear near Clam Gulch, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seine test fishery continues after board of fish calls for more data

The east side setnet fishery has been entirely closed in recent years to protect Kenai River king salmon

Jason Criss stands for a photo in Soldotna, Alaska, after being named a qualifier for the Special Olympics USA Games on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna athlete to compete in 2026 Special Olympics USA Games

Thousands of athletes from across all 50 states will be competing in 16 sports.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in