In the final Bristol Bay Fisheries Report of the season, we recap this year's run with area management biologists and the fishermen who have been working hard all summer.
What a year! Thanks for keeping up with our coverage of Bristol Bay's sockeye fishery this year. Stay in touch -- avery@kdlg.org -- and check back next summer for the 2019 Fisheries Report!
More than 61 million sockeye had returned to Bristol Bay as of Thursday. That’s about 10 million sockeye over the preseason forecast and the second largest run recorded in Bristol Bay.
Trident Seafoods and Ocean Beauty Seafoods both confirmed a base price of $1.25 per pound for sockeye. That’s up a quarter from last season. Trident will pay an extra $0.15 for fish that are chilled, floated and bled. That’s down slightly from its 2017 quality incentive—up to a quarter per pound.
By Thursday, the run sat at 40.4 million sockeye harvested, just under the second largest harvest recorded—40.5 million in 1993. The all-time record is 44.3 million, set in 1995.
On our final Bristol Bay Fisheries Report we hear from managers of all five Bristol Bay fishing districts about how they are thinking about this year’s run as fishing winds down. We also talk to a regional supervisor with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game about how Bristol Bay’s record breaking run fits in with languishing sockeye returns around the state.
We also hear from the fishing fleet about how the season has looked on the water.
The Bristol Bay Fisheries Report is done for the season. You can still keep up with our reporting online and in our daily newscasts at 7:04 a.m., 8:18 a.m., 12:04 p.m. and 4:32 p.m.
Send your feedback on the show to news director Avery Lill and fisheries reporters Austin Fast and Mitch Borden. We've appreciated hearing from you and sharing your messages to the fleet this summer!
