Get in touch and share some perspective — give us a call 907-842-2200 or send an email to fish@kdlg.org.
Naknek-Kvichak fleets have brought in just under 200,000 fish so far this season, escapement is at about 95,000 and the total run is at just over 320,000 fish. Fisheries reporter Corinne Smith spoke with Fish and Game area management biologist Travis Ellison for an update.
Bristol Bay setnetters to vote on whether to join BBRSDA
Bristol Bay set netters will soon decide whether or not they want to join the region’s seafood development association. KDLG’s Corinne Smith has more.
Bag limit changes for sportfishers in the Nushagak, in response to concerns over king salmon decline
Sport fishing regulations have changed across Bristol Bay this year following decisions by the Board of Fisheries over the winter. Most changes are in response to concerns over low king salmon populations, and attempt to increase their escapement numbers. This year, king salmon were designated as a stock of concern in the Nushagak for the first time. This designation spurred bag limit changes for sport fisheries in the Nushagak – our focus today.
Round Island hunters on walrus hunting in Bristol Bay
In the summer, tens of thousands of Pacific walruses gather along Alaska’s beaches. And one of the biggest haulouts is on an island in Bristol Bay. It’s also a traditional hunting site, where Yup’ik people have harvested walrus for thousands of years.
KDLG’s Izzy Ross visited the island last year and talked to a few of Bristol Bay’s walrus hunters about the importance of their hunts.
This story was made possible through a field reporting grant from the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources.
Messages to the Fleet
To Captain Matt Hakela on the F/V Jenny M:
Hey Mattie. Sorry I wasn’t able to find the brow waxing kit you texted about. Although I was able to find the wild berry bacne mask and starfruit kombucha body spray. I’ll see if I can include both with the boxed set of Bob Dylan concerts. Jen says you’re lost without part of your vast collection. Slay some fish and tell the crew hi!
Montana Chick
We also have a few poems to share–
These haikus are by Brie, on the F/V Okuma, and written on the decks of fishing boats over the last five years…
Bunny boots and crocs
They’re warm, dry and xtratuf
Alaska state shoes.
Hands swell up with pain
And my heart swells up with joy
I love picking fish.
Not a full night’s sleep
Just a long series of naps
It’s salmon season.
Thank you Brie, on the Okuma, for those…If you’d like to send us a poem or photos from where you are in the bay, we’d love to hear from you. Or a message to the fleet, give us a call 842-5281 or send an email to fish@kdlg.org.
The numbers
The bay-wide daily catch on Wednesday was 606,090 fish harvested across all districts. The total run as of yesterday was 6,149,525 sockeye, and cumulative escapement was at 2,714,623.
At the Nushagak River sonar, another 81,924 sockeye passed on Wednesday for a total of 969,139 fish up the river so far.
1,470 Chinook passed the Nushagak River sonar for a total of 22,494 this season.
And another 2,995 chum salmon passed the sonar, for a total of 52,878.
Wood River
106,860 sockeye passed the Wood River counting tower on Wednesday, for a total escapement of 1,485,588. Another 15,954 fish swam up-river this morning.
Escapement in the Wood is forecasted at about 8 million sockeye.
Igushik River
42,402 sockeye passed the Igushik counting tower on Wednesday, for a total of 69,690 fish this season. 7,044 more swam past the tower as of 6 am this morning.
Togiak
Togiak fleets caught 1,198 fish yesterday, and the season’s cumulative catch is 7,377 fish.
No escapement numbers from Togiak yet, but the forecast is an estimated 700,000 sockeye, and about 500,000 for harvest.
On the east-side…
Naknek-Kvichak
Naknek and Kvichak fleets caught zero fish yesterday. The total season harvest is almost 199,929 fish to date. This season’s total escapement is 95,844 fish, and 18,966 of those fish swam upstream yesterday.
Let’s break that down by river:
In the Naknek River, 12,192 spawners swam upstream yesterday, for a season total of 88,902.
In the Kvichak River, 6,774 fish swam upstream, for a total of 6,942 fish so far this season.
The Naknek is forecasted to see a 6.5 million sockeye run, and the Kvichak is expecting to see over 8 million fish. The Alagnak is forecasted to get around 4.2 million, but no Alagnak counts are in yet.
Egegik fishing crews also caught zero fish yesterday, and the season’s total catch sits at 880,090. Another 16,890 fish escaped upstream on Wednesday, bringing the season’s total escapement to 94,236 fish. The season’s escapement goal is over 800,000.
The total run is now at 989,326 fish, and Egegik is expected to see around 11 million sockeye.
Ugashik
No fish were caught in the Ugashik on Wednesday. The season total is 78,720 fish harvested. Escapement counts began yesterday, with 126 spawners swimming upstream, bringing the total run to 78,846.
Vessel Registrations
As of noon today, in Egegik, there are 423 permits on 320 boats. Permits will drop slightly to 419 permits on 317 boats by Saturday, and the number of DBoats boats will go from 103 to 102.
The Ugashik District has 56 permits on 45 boats, which will increase slightly to 60 permits on 48 boats in the next 2 days. DBoats will go from 11 to 12.
In the Naknek-Kvichak District, there are now 306 permits on 257 boats. That will increase to 383 permits on 310 boats by Saturday. DBoats will increase from 49 to 73.
In the Nushagak, there are 736 permits on 530 boats. In the next 2 days, permits will stay at 736, but boats will increase to 533. DBoats will drop from 206 to 203.
The Togiak District has 18 permits on 18 boats, which won’t change in the next two days.
In total bay-wide, there are 1,539 active permits on 1,170 boats with 369 DBoats.
Chignik River weir
At the Chignik River weir, 31,923 sockeye swam through the weir yesterday, for a season total of 242,031.
An estimated 29,218 fish were part of the early run, and 2,705 fish part of the late run.
Area M
In Area M, North and South Peninsula fleets harvested over 64,147 sockeye yesterday for a total topping 1,123,090 this season. They caught another 146 chinook for a total of almost 2,577 to date.
52,041 pinks were caught on Wednesday along with 28,330 chum and just 86 cohos.
The total Area M season harvest across species is now at 1,538,785 fish.
And now on to the Port Moller Test Fishery:
The Port Moller researchers say the Daily Catch Index picked up today making the signal from the test fishery less indicative of an early run timing.
No stock composition to report today. On to the catch numbers…
For Port Moller catches on June 28, no fish were caught at Station 2, 16, or 18.
At the following test fishery stations, the smaller mesh size is 4 ½ inch and the bigger mesh size is 5 ⅛.
Station 4 caught 64 fish in the small net and 114 fish in the big net. That catch index is 305.
Station 6 caught 43 fish in the small net and 98 fish in the big net. That catch index is 292.
Station 8 caught 46 fish in the small net and 28 fish in the big net. That catch index is 159.
Station 10 caught 14 fish in the small net and 7 fish in the big net. That catch index is 53.
Station 12 caught 0 fish in the small net and 22 fish in the big net. That catch index is 57.
Station 14 caught 7 fish in the small net and 14 fish in the big net for a catch index of 47.
Get in touch at fish@kdlg.org.
