It’s KDLG’s annual fund drive this week! Quyana and thank you so much to everyone who’s donated so far. If you haven’t donated yet, please consider doing so to help support your Bristol Bay Fisheries Report. Donate online on our website at kdlg.org, or call us at (907) 842-2200.
Messages to the fleet
Attention: Request to Fisherman to Call Home right away
Would you please put an urgent request out to a fisherman, Louis Balluta in Bristol Bay to call his wife, Stacy - thank you.
Stacy
A shout out to the folks back home: Happy birthday, sweetheart. I enjoyed chatting on the phone with you today; and, of course, the call dropped so it felt like Bristol Bay. Hope the grass grows well following the rain you are getting and that everyone feels better. Looking forward to some fresh cut French fries in August, raising some chickens, and drinking coffee in the mornings. Love to all. Joshua (with Sorren)
FROM N.S. #7
I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S OUT THERE OR NOT, SINCE MY PHONE IS belly UP, BUT,
THIS IS A CONGRATULATIONS THAT A FEW PEOPLE OUT THERE WILL APPRECIATE, AND CAN PASS ALONG, TO TOAST MY BROTHER - FOR 55 YRS. ALREADY UNDER HIS BELT ON BRISTOL BAY, STARTING WHEN HE WAS 13 - BACK IN THE MID 60s
MORE PEOPLE THAN I PROBLY KNOW STARTED THEIR OWN FISHING FUTURE ON THE DECK OF HIS BOAT. OR, AT LEAST, HOLD A STORY FOR THEIR OWN RECORD BOOK - UNDER HIS COMMAND.
JUST TO PERK UP A LITTLE BIT OF MEMORIES, I CALL BACK TO A FEW VESSEL NAMES THAT OUGHT TO RING THE WEATHER BELL.
AFTER THE MOMBOKID,
CAME THE "AMERICAN EAGLE"
& COUSIN BRIAN PITCHING FISH OVERBOARD ON THE LAGOON BEACH OF A RARE UGASHIK FOG.
OR, PEWING EVERY SINGLE FISH UP OVER THE BULLWARK OF THE TENDER " WOLF ", FROM A LOADED HATCH BECAUSE THEIR HYDRAULICS WERE DOWN - DON BALLARD ON HIS DAY OFF FROM THE C.W.F. OFFICE SAT CLICKING THE FISH COUNT - AVG. 5 -1/2 LBS. IS WHAT THEY GAVE US. I THINK WE ONLY LOST 2 FISH OVER THE SIDE @ 0.48/LB.
"R.S. 28" - NO UPPER CABIN, , CANVAS ENGINE COVER, ONE TANG LEFT ON THE HELM STEERING-WHEEL, AND HALF THE CORKS HUNG WERE WOOD.
THE "PTARMIGAN" WITH LITTLE FRANKIE VARGAS HANGING OFF THE "PTARMIGAN'S" STERNWITH A 9 FOOT SWELL SLAPPING HIS FANNY UNTIL ONE OF HIS BOOTS CAME OFF - FRANKIE TOPPING IT ALL OFF WITH A BIG SMILE, AND AN EAR-CUFFING FROM HIS OLD MAN, TYPICALLY - STILL SMILING.
THE F/V "SANDY" - SISTER TO MITCH'S BOAT THE "WILD GOOSE" - GIVING TWO OF OUR SISTERS THEIR BRISTOL BAY CHRISTENING IN LAKE ILLIAMNA.
-GUESS WITH THAT KIND OF NAME IT'S INEVITABLE.
AND FINAL, BUT CERTAINLY FORMID-ABLE CHRISTENINGS -
THE "SAINT" CHRISTENINGS FROM DUTCH TO ADAK, PULLING THE GRAY MATTER OUT OF 10 FOOT WAVES IN 10 FEET OF WATER, THE 'CANDIDE' BAR BATH, THE 'KAREN' BOW SHOWER, THE THERESA LEE 80KT. WINDS, AND THE ONE AND ONLY WINKY'S FLYING CIRCUS THAT STARTED ON A PURPLE TENDER AND PREGNANT CREW TO BOOT.
-- YEP, SOME THINGS JUST DON'T CHANGE.
I GOT STUFF OUT OF THE OLD LOCKER FROM MAYBE 1975 OR '78 THAT I AM SENDING - IT'S A BRAND NEW APRON STILL WITH THE HELLY-HANSEN TAG, A PAIR OF HIP BOOTS, AND A TESTED SOUTHEAST'R HAT.
SOME GEAR THAT DAD MUST HAVE STASHED - JUST TO GET THAT OLD SALT FEELING AGAIN.
- AND, WITH THAT MENTION, MAY THE LAST STAND OF THE DETROIT 671 REST IN HIS STEADY PEACE.
SO, HERE'S A TAP O' THE HAT TO YA !
FROM ALL THOSE WHO KNOW BETTER !
THIS GOES OUT TO THE 3 MAN CANISTER
The numbers
Bristol Bay’s total run is at 71.5 million sockeye. It broke the previous record of 67.6 million fish, which was set last year.
Friday’s escapement across the bay was 373,434. Total escapement is 16.7 million spawning salmon. And while the bay’s harvest and total run have broken records, this year’s total escapement has yet to set a precedent: It’s still below last year’s total escapement of 25.6 million spawning salmon.
Nushagak District
Fishermen in the Nushagak District caught 330,000 fish on Friday, with an average drift delivery of 645 sockeye. The total harvest is now over 22 million fish. That’s the district’s second-largest harvest on record. The largest harvest was in 2018, when the fleet brought in 24.2 million fish.
Another 76,290 sockeye escaped up rivers across the district. The district’s population of spawning sockeye is now 7.1 million
The district’s total run is at 29.2 million sockeye — the second largest on record. The district’s largest run returned in 2018, at 33.7 million fish.
Nushagak River
The Nushagak River sonar crew counted 14,940 sockeye on Friday, bringing the river’s total escapement to 3.36 million. That is over the state’s escapement goal by 2.4 million sockeye.
The daily chum run was 3,306, for a total of 91,497. That isn’t even halfway to the Nushagak’s minimum escapement goal of 200,000 chum.
And Chinook escapement was at 282, for a season total of 43,550. That’s still more than 10,000 fish below its minimum goal of 55,000 kings.
Wood River
The Wood River tower crew counted 57,792 salmon on Friday and another 12,000 this morning. The Wood’s total spawner count is at 3.5 million. That escapement is almost double its upper-end goal of 1.8 million fish.
Igushik River
The Igushik tower counted 3,558 salmon on Friday and another 2,844 this morning. Igushik escapement is now 231,666. That’s sitting right in the middle of its goal range for escapement.
Togiak
Togiak fleets hauled in 14,500 fish on Friday, with an average drift delivery of 186 fish. The total harvest is now 184,845 fish, and the total run is now 219,111.
Togiak’s run past the tower was 2,040 fish on Friday, and another 468 escaped this morning. Total escapement up the Togiak River is now just over 34,000 — about a quarter of the way to its minimum escapement goal.
Naknek-Kvichak
The Naknek-Kvichak hauled in 544,000 fish Friday, for a total harvest of 12.46 million fish. The average drift delivery was 759 fish.
Escapement was 220,518 fish for a season total of just over 6.6 million.
The total run there is at 19 million fish.
Naknek River
The Naknek River crew counted 50,214 fish that swam upriver on Friday, for a total escapement of 1.78 million. The Naknek’s escapement is nearing its maximum goal of 2 million fish.
Kvichak River
Kvichak’s daily escapement was 127,824 fish, for a total of 3.6 million. While the Kvichak has seen some big pulses of salmon in the past couple weeks, its escapement is still at the lower end of its escapement goal range.
Alagnak River
The Alagnak tower crew counted 42,480 fish on Friday for a total escapement of 1.24 million. That’s almost 500% above its minimum goal of 210,000.
Egegik
The Egegik fleet harvested 405,000 fish Friday for a total of 14.66 million. The average drift delivery was the largest of all districts with 1,023 sockeye. 21,588 fish swam past the counting tower, for a total escapement of 1.67 million — still short of Egegik’s upper escapement goal is 2 million.
The total run there is at 16.33 million — the fourth largest on record.
Ugashik
The Ugashik fleet caught 213,000 fish on Friday, with an average drift delivery of 836 sockeye. The total harvest is 5.4 million - the fifth largest on record. The biggest harvest was in 2016 at 6.63 million.
52,998 fish escaped up the Ugashik River, for a total escapement of 1.25 million fish. That’s almost at the upper escapement goal of 1.4 million
The total run there is now 6.65 million
Vessel and permit registrations: 9 a.m. July 16 - 9 a.m. July 18
Bristol Bay’s permit and vessel counts are still set to grow over the next couple days.
Tomorrow morning, July 17 at 9am Fish and Game will no longer require notice for vessel and permit registrations in any district except Togiak.
More vessels are moving over to the Naknek-Kvichak this weekend. There are currently 656 permits on 525 boats. That will increase to 691 permits on 554 boats by Monday. The number of DBoats will go from 134 to 140.
Egegik has 295 permits on 224 boats, and will see a slight increase to 298 permits on 226 boats by Monday. DBoats will go up by one from 71 to 72 boats.
Nushagak’s fleet will shrink slightly, from 404 permits on 298 boats to 400 permits on 296 boats. The number of DBoats will go from 107 to 105.
Ugashik’s fleet will see a slight increase in numbers as well, from 324 permits on 242 boats, to 327 permits on 244 boats by Monday. The number of DBoats will go from 83 to 84.
Finally, Togiak’s fleet will stay steady at 38 permits on 38 boats.
Chignik Weir
Down the Alaska Peninsula in the Chignik River Weir, 10,153 sockeye were counted for a season total of over half a million at 509,844 fish.
3,650 sockeye were part of the early run for a count of 398,863 and 6,503 fish were part of the late run there for a total of 110,981 salmon.
42 Chinook also returned for a cumulative count of 332 for that species.
Area M
The Area M intercept fishery seems to have picked up again, with 215,854 fish caught on Friday for a total of 9.1 million fish this season so far.
Friday’s harvest broke down to 152,651 sockeye, 34,625 pinks, 24,463 chum, 3,009 coho, and 1,106 Chinook.
Total harvest for each species is now 7.3 million sockeye, 1.22 million pinks, 613,568 chum, 7,788 Chinook, and 4,577 coho.
Fleets from the Dolgoi Island Area harvested 53,715 sockeye, and just 66 chinook so far. The Shumagin Islands fleet has caught over 843,000 sockeye, and almost 1,300 chinook. South Unimak fishermen have caught 3 million sockeye and 1,600 chinook.
In all, the South Peninsula has hauled in almost 4.1 million sockeye, 6,873 Chinook, 1.22 million pink salmon, 612,764 chum, and 4,571 coho total to date.
Port Moller Test Fishery
The Port Moller Test Fishery completed its final test fishing for the 2022 season on Thursday July 14 - we’ll have more on the project and the at-sea genetics lab work next week.
Get in touch with the team at fish@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.
