Jessie Sheldon
Fisheries ReportJessie Sheldon is a fisheries reporter for KDLG, which brings daily news reports throughout the summer to thousands of commercial fishermen in Bristol Bay. Previously, she worked as a Wilderness Research Fellow for the Society for Wilderness Stewardship in California’s Sierra Nevada, and has spent several summers working in Alaska, both on the water and in the recording studio. Jessie graduated from Colorado College with a degree in Environmental Science. She’s passionate about marine ecosystems, connection through storytelling, and all things fishy.
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Silver Bay Seafoods announced it was partnering with former Bristol Bay competitor Northline Seafoods in April, just days after Northline’s CEO resigned. This sudden shift occurred just a few months before the start of the sockeye season, leaving fishermen feeling uneasy about Bristol Bay’s market diversity -
The bay-wide run has surpassed the 40 million mark, well on its way to that 44 million pre-season forecast. Egegik and Ugashik have now both exceeded their projected total run, and the Naknek River has now passed the lower benchmark of its escapement google range. Port Moller has reported their final catch update for the 2026 fishing season. -
The bay-wide run is now just over 35 million fish. Yesterday’s catch brought in just over 1 million salmon, with Egegik fleets bringing in the biggest haul of the day. The Ugashik district has now exceeded its pre-season forecast, with a total run so far of 5.7 million fish. -
Fish are returning to Bristol Bay by the millions—the final stage in an epic journey home. But how do fish know where their natal stream is, or how to get there? -
The bay-wide run is now just under 33.5 million fish, that’s about three quarters of the way to hitting the total run forecast for the season. Ugashik’s total run has hit the district’s inshore forecast of 5.2 million fish, and yesterday their escapement counts more than doubled. Lots of boats still on their way to the Naknek-Kvichak, with over 130 additional permits transferring to the district over the next two days. -
The bay-wide run is now just over 31 million fish, with yesterday’s catches in Egegik, Nushagak, and Naknek-Kvichak each in the ballpark of half a million fish. The total bay-wide catch was just under 1.8 million. Escapement in the Naknek River is closing in on the lower end of its escapement goal, and total runs in Egegik and Ugashik are each within a million fish of their pre-season forecast. -
The bay-wide run is now just under 29 million fish, with about 1.1 million fish caught yesterday. Egegik crews brought in nearly half of that, with about 490,000 fish. Lots of folks are on their way to fish the Naknek-Kvichak, with almost 150 additional permits transferring to the district over the next two days.
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The bay-wide run is now just under 27 million fish, with big catches over the weekend. On Sunday, crews caught 1.4 million fish, and Saturday, crews across the bay caught a whopping 2.3 million fish–that’s the biggest bay-wide catch of the season so far. Togiak tower crews started work last night, and the Naknek River saw a nice bump in escapement yesterday, bringing them closer to the lower end of their escapement goal range. The Port Moller Test Fishery says the bay is on track to meet its pre-season forecast of 44 million fish. -
For over 70 years, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has used counting towers in Bristol Bay to track salmon escapement. That means techs hand count each fish that swims by. But new technology is on its way to the Bay. KDLG’s Jessie Sheldon visited a research site on the Wood River to learn what AI and drones could mean for the fishery. -
The bay-wide run is now just under 20 million fish, with steady catches yesterday from all districts bringing in a total just under 1.5 million fish. The Nuhagak river has exceeded the upper end of its escapement goal range, with 2.7 million fish counted upstream so far this season, and the Kvichak river recorded the highest escapement of the day. A big drop off in the catch index at Port Moller, but their crew says not to worry, there are plenty of sockeye between the transect and the districts.
