What we know (and don't know) about run timing
As the fishing season kicked off, boatyard chatter speculated whether this year’s unseasonably cooler summer weather would delay the Bristol Bay salmon runs. Tonight, we investigate what western science data says about the when and what factors affect run timing.
Local muralist inspired by Bristol Bay communities and landscapes
Apay’uq Moore is an acrylic painter and muralist based in Aleknagik. Her art portrays themes of salmon and community, and the people and landscapes of Bristol Bay. In her dynamic paintings, these realms often mingle, with salmon blending seamlessly into the sky, or people becoming visually intertwined with the land. KDLG’s Jessie Sheldon sat down with Apay’uq to talk about her work in Bristol Bay, and the role fish plays in her art.
Chignik sockeye run on track to meet escapement goals, but chinook are scarce
The Chignik watershed is seeing a continued rebound this season, with sockeye runs on track to make escapement goals for the second year in a row. The Chignik runs saw a dramatic drop since 2018, prompting concern from residents and fisheries closures to help preserve the runs. And while sockeye are coming back, chinooks are scarce in Chignik, and designated a stock of concern last year. KDLG’s Corinne Smith checked in with Fish and Game area management biologist Carl Burnside for the latest.
Voices of the Fleet: Pie in the Sky
From a new series this season called 'Voices of the Fleet,' featuring first-person stories from around the Bay with KDLG's Mark McKeown.
Messages to the Fleet
Happy birthday to Jack Bower, fishing on Icy Strait in Naknek district, turning 19 today! Your family wishes you a happy birthday and good fishing.
The Numbers
The baywide catch Wednesday was almost double the day before with 2,303,166 fish.
The total season catch is at 17,184,277. Cumulative escapement is at 4,736,868 with another 608,000 estimated in-river.
The total run as of yesterday was 2,529,14 sockeye.
Nushagak
In the Nushagak District, fleets caught 749,557 fish on Wednesday, with an average drift delivery of 1,426 sockeye. The total catch is 7,234,005.
The drift fleet has caught 81 percent of that total harvest, while Nushagak set netters have caught 16 percent, and set netters in the Igushik have caught 2.8 percent.
Nushagak River
At the Nushagak River sonar, 96,000 [96,658] sockeye passed on Wednesday for a total of 1,328,538 fish up the river so far.
484 Chinook passed the Nushagak River sonar yesterday for a total of 27,761 this season. The escapement goal is at least 55,000.
Another 3,191 chum salmon passed the sonar, for a total of 71,828 this season.
Wood River
77,880 sockeye passed the Wood River counting tower on Wednesday, bringing the total escapement to 1,898,202. Another 25,296 swam up by 6 am this morning.
The escapement goal for the Wood River is up to 3 million fish, and the forecast is around 8 million sockeye.
Igushik River
5,106 sockeye passed the Igushik counting tower on Wednesday, for a total of 175,614 fish this season. Another 1,362 swam past the tower as of 6 am this morning.
Togiak
Togiak fleets caught 4,540 fish Wednesday, for a season total of 30,947 fish. The average drift delivery there was 110 fish.
The Togiak counting tower crew is still setting up and there are no escapement reports yet. Togiak escapement is forecasted at 700,000.
Naknek-Kvichak
Naknek and Kvichak fishing fleets hauled in the biggest harvest Wednesday, just shy of a million, at 9983,621 fish. The season total harvest is 4,208,369 fish. The average drift delivery yesterday was 1,342 fish.
Total escapement is at 635,586, and 117,462 of those fish swam upstream yesterday.
The drift fleet caught about 78 percent of the total harvest, Naknek setnetters caught around 11 percent, and Kvichak setnetters around 10 percent. The average drift delivery yesterday was 1,342 fish.
In the Naknek River, over 75,774 fish swam upstream yesterday, bringing the river’s cumulative escapement to over 482,316.
In the Kvichak River, almost 6,912 fish made it upstream past the counting tower, for a total escapement of 95,946 fish so far. The in-river estimate for the Kvichak is 450,000.
In the Alagnak River, over 34,776 spawners swam upstream yesterday, for a total season escapement of 57,324.
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.
Egegik
Egegik fishing crews caught 467,089 fish yesterday, with an average drift delivery of 1,252 sockeye. The season’s total catch is now at 5,431,469.
Egegik drifters have hauled in about 83 percent of the harvest this season, and setnetters have caught about 17 percent.
40,566 fish swam upstream yesterday, for a total season escapement of 6694,476 fish. The total run is now just under 6,275,945.
Ugashik
Ugashik fleets harvested 98,359 fish on Wednesday, with an average drift delivery of 1,211 sockeye. The season total is 279,487 fish harvested. So far, Ugashik drifters have caught 73 percent of the season’s total catch, and setnetters have caught 27 percent.
Cumulative escapement is at 4,452 fish and the total run in Ugashik is 291,939, with an in-river estimate of 8,000.
Vessel Registrations
As of noon today, in Egegik, there are 427 permits on 325 boats. That will increase slightly to 431 permits on 329 boats by Saturday. The number of DBoats will stay the same at 102.
The Ugashik District has 66 permits on 52 boats, with a big jump to 97 permits on 72 boats in the next 2 days. DBoats will go from 14 up to 25 by Saturday.
In the Naknek-Kvichak District, there are now 583 permits on 439 boats. That will jump to 632 permits on 473 boats by Saturday. DBoats will increase from 144 to 159.
In the Nushagak, there are 502 permits on 381 boats. In the next 2 days, that will drop to 494 permits on 374 boats. DBoats will decrease from 122 to 121.
The Togiak District has 22 permits on 22 boats, which will stay the same in the next two days.
In total bay-wide, there are 1,600 active permits on 1,219 boats and 382 DBoats.
Chignik River weir
At the Chignik River weir, 8,908 sockeye swam through the weir Wednesday, for a season total just under 3377,775.
An estimated 6,690 fish were part of the early run, and about 2,218 fish part of the late run.
Area M
In Area M, North and South Peninsula fleets harvested 86,494 sockeye on Wednesday. The season’s total is 1,438,509.
They caught 15 chinook Wednesday, for a season total of 2,789. 346 chum were caught, along with 1 pink, and no coho.
The total Area M season harvest across species is now at 1,855.621.
For the South Peninsula, total harvest is at 881,278 sockeye and 1,737 chinook.
In the North Peninsula, total harvest is 557,231 sockeye and 1,052 chinook.
Port Moller Test Fishery:
No stock composition to report today.
For Port Moller catches on Wednesday, no fish were caught at Stations 4 or 22.
At the following test fishery stations, the smaller mesh size is 4 ½ inch and the bigger mesh size is 5 ⅛.
Station 2 caught 2 fish in the small net and 0 fish in the big net. That catch index is 4.
Station 6 caught 1 fish in the small net and 19 fish in the big net. That catch index is 35.
Station 8 caught 15 fish in the small net and 7 fish in the big net. That catch index is 47.
Station 10 caught 0 fish in the small net and 5 fish in the big net. That catch index is 11.
Station 12 caught 0 fish in the small net and 20 fish in the big net. That catch index is 35.
Station 14 caught 14 fish in the small net and 22 fish in the big net. That catch index is 77.
Station 16 caught 1 fish in the small net and 15 fish in the big net. That catch index is 36.
Station 18 caught 1 fish in the small net and 0 fish in the big net. That catch index is 2.
Station 20 caught 10 fish in the small net and 0 fish in the big net. That catch index is 23.
Get in touch at fish@kdlg.org.
