Fisheries

Salmon processors in Bristol Bay are boosting the prices per pound for sockeye amid favorable markets. Preliminary data released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in November, suggests better prices and increased demand over 2020’s salmon season. That improvement extends beyond Bristol Bay, as more fisheries across the state had better harvests this year.

Bundrant, one of the founders of America’s largest seafood company, Trident, died last month. He started out as a deckhand on an Alaska crabbing boat in the 1960s and went on to become one of the most influential seafood executives in the world.

In the past decade, Bristol Bay has seen consistently large salmon runs and continues to break records. But some other Alaska fisheries are experiencing historically low runs, a trend that worries scientists, fishery managers and communities. What keeps Bristol Bay booming as other areas struggle?

For the first time, the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a Tribal research coordinator. NOAA is a key federal leader of environmental research. Those involved say the new position is a step toward better representation for Alaska’s Indigenous communities. 

BBRSDA’s Executive Director Andy Wink is joined by Marketing Director Lilani Dunn and Board President Michael Jackson to give an overview of BBRSDA.

The fourth episode of Waypoints Radio features a discussion with UAF’s Curry Cunningham and UW’s Ray Hilborn and Daniel Schindler about research activities going on in Bristol Bay.

The third episode of Waypoints Radio aired on July 8 features BBRSDA’s Marketing Team. Marketing Director, Lilani Dunn, speaks with Mark Jones, Christine Fanning, and Kate Consenstein about the success of Bristol Bay Sockeye at the retail stores with a focus on this upcoming Fresh Season. They also discuss the unique ways stores can choose to do promotions, how the pandemic reshaped consumer behaviors towards seafood and how the BBRSDA plans on riding the momentum of increased seafood consumption at home.

The Bristol Bay Native Corporation held its third annual in-person king salmon derby in June to raise money for higher-education programs. And while the crowds were big -- it attracted sports fishermen from all over the state and even the country -- the fish were pretty small.

The second episode of Waypoints Radio focuses on the evolution of fish quality in Bristol Bay and explores the quality-oriented activities BBRSDA is funding this season. BBRSDA’s Frances Bursch and Andy Wink are joined by Chuck Anderson, a long-time retail buyer of Bristol Bay sockeye who is now the Vice President for Seafood Analytics, a company that has developed exciting new technology to quantify seafood quality