Ryan Berkoski

The largest catch came in from Egegik yesterday, while the Alagnak held the largest escapement of all the rivers. The total run is creeping up to its forecast, and vessel registration data is no longer available.

Yesterday, Eastside catch counts were all in the hundreds of thousands, and the Ugashik river held the largest escapement. Also the Chignik weir noted a larger late run.

The Naknek-Kvichak had a greater catch & escapement than all other districts combined yesterday, and the Kvichak River has almost surpassed the Nushagak River in total escapement, with almost 3 million spawners making their way upstream. Overall, bay-wide catch and escapement numbers are starting to slow down.

Smaller numbers today as the tail of the run makes its way to the bay. However, both Egegik and Naknek-Kvichak surpassed 10 million in their total run. The strongest escapement yesterday swam through the Kvichak river, as the majority of fish continue to flood that district.

Despite being known for having the world’s largest sockeye run, Bristol Bay is home to much more marine life than salmon—one of them being beluga whales. A recent study on the Bristol Bay belugas has revealed a complex mating system that may be keeping the species alive.

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 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 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.

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.

Once again, crews in the Nushagak caught nearly a million sockeye just the other day, bringing the baywide catch to almost 10 million. Escapement in the Naknek River is looking slim, while the Kvichak keeps climbing. And Port Moller has recorded yet another strong Daily Catch Index after a couple days of low counts.