Fishermen decide whether to keep fishing or pack up and go home. The EPA reaffirms its previous veto of the Pebble Mine. Plus, we hear from a woman creating community for partners of commercial fishermen.
The baywide catch is 39 million. The total run is now at 54 million.
Get in touch and share some perspective — give us a call at 907-842-5281 or send an email to fish@kdlg.org. If you’d like to get a message out to the fleet on this show, send your messages to the fleet to fish@kdlg.org.
“The price of everything we do has gone up exponentially, but the price for our salmon truly hasn't."Fisherman Mark Niver
Fisherman at the Dillingham Harbor reflect on the season and the preliminary sockeye price
On Monday, the total Bristol Bay sockeye run surpassed the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s preseason forecast. We’re getting close to the end of the season, and some fishermen are making the choice of whether to keep fishing or head home.
At the Dillingham Harbor, long-time fisherman Gus Tunguing Jr. from Koliganek was wrapping up for the season. He said that the season went well.
“Kinda windy and rough all season, but good fishing,” Tunguing said. He says that he’s relieved that fishing is over so he can rest.
Others are choosing to stay out, like fisherman Rick Murphy. When asked his thoughts on the preliminary sockeye salmon prices per pound released by processors, Murphy said that he didn’t think it was too low.
“All fishermen want it to be a little more than it is,” Murphy said. “It's better than it has been in some of the years past, so I can't really complain. Always wish it could be a little higher, though.”
Silver Bay Seafoods announced their preliminary price early this year, before the fishing season began. With incentives included, the price is $1.30 a pound. Trident Seafoods matched Silver Bay’s price, with a base price of $.95 and a price of $1.30 a pound, incentives included.
Northline did not respond to our request for their price.
Mark Niver has been a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman for 45 years. He says that he expects those prices to go up, because he thinks the current price is unsustainable.
“The price of everything we do has gone up exponentially, but the price for our salmon truly hasn't,” Niver said. “So it has to come up or… the only person that's gonna be able to survive is the guy that has everything paid for.”
Trump's EPA reaffirms Biden-era Pebble Mine veto
The Environmental Protection Agency is sticking with its veto of the proposed mine near Bristol Bay.
Northern Dynasty, the parent company behind the Pebble project, is still suing to get the veto overturned. A document filed in that lawsuit early this month said the company and the EPA were in settlement talks and that the Trump administration said it was open to reconsidering the Biden-era veto on the controversial mining project.
But yesterday, [July 17] attorneys in the case filed another document to update the judge. It says that negotiations between the company and the EPA did not reach a resolution, and that the Trump administration will continue to back the veto.
“The main thing that I see people talking about in our community is stressing and worrying for their fishermen's safety.”Megan Waldrep
Creating community for partners of commercial fishermen
10 years ago, Megan Waldrep was working as the editor of a small weekly paper in Santa Barbara, California.
Her life took a turn when she met Chris Dabney.
Dabney started working as a commercial fisherman when he was fifteen, and fishes for sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay and spiny lobster in California.
Waldrep says she had no background or knowledge of fishing, that is, until the day Dabney walked into the office of her newspaper.
“I ended up asking him out and then we had a long distance relationship,” Waldrep said. “We're still together after almost 10 years now.”
Ever since then, Waldrep has gone on a journey to understand what it really means to be in a relationship with someone who fishes for a living, someone who’s often gone for long stretches, out working a dangerous job. That journey led Waldrep to write about the experiences of and even create an online community for other partners of commercial fishermen.
“If it wasn't for the invisible labor of women… the commercial fishing industry would not be the multi-billion dollar industry it is.”Megan Waldrep
Megan Waldrep is the host of the podcast “Partners of Commercial Fishermen,” and organizes the online community “POCF Pride.”
Check-in with Area Management Biologist Tim Sands
We hear from Area Management biologist Tim Sands on his thoughts as the season draws closer to the end. Listen to that interview below.
The Numbers
Baywide Total
The baywide catch on Thursday was 588,852 fish, making the total season catch 38,847,846. Overall escapement is at 14,675,265 so far. The total run as of Thursday, July 17 was estimated at 53,523,111 sockeye. The run has surpassed its preseason forecast of 51.4 million fish, and it is within the preseason estimated range of 37–66 million fish.
Nushagak
In the Nushagak District, fleets hauled in 88,079 fish on Thursday, for a total of 15,887,603 with an average drift delivery of 340 sockeye. Nushagak is past its pre-season catch forecast of 15.7 million fish.
Escapement was 29,887 yesterday, for an overall count of 6,404,457 so far. The total run this season in the Nushagak District is 22,292,060, surpassing the pre-season forecast of 21 million fish.
Nushagak River
The Nushagak River sonar counted 6,085 sockeye on Thursday, for a total of 3,222,915 sockeye up the Nushagak so far.
No chinook passed the sonar; their total is 33,747. And 1,528 chum passed the sonar, for a total of 364,956.
The Nushagak River has surpassed its expected escapement of 2 million fish, and has exceeded its escapement goal range of 370,000 to 2.5 million. The escapement goal range for chinook salmon is 55,000 to 120,000.
Wood River
15,312 sockeye passed the Wood River counting tower on Thursday, for a total of 2,561,016 so far, with another 5,004 fish passing the tower as of 6 a.m. this morning. The Wood River has passed its escapement forecast of 2.4 million sockeye this season, and the Wood is within its escapement goal range of 700,000 to 3 million.
Igushik
The Igushik tower crew counted 8,490 fish yesterday, for a total of 590,526, with an additional 2,064 fish counted as of 6 a.m. this morning. Igushik has surpassed its preseason escapement estimate of 340,000 fish, and has exceeded its escapement goal range of 150,000 to 400,000.
Togiak
8,160 sockeye were counted by the Togiak tower crews on Thursday, for a total of 84,432, with another 1,536 fish counted as of 6 a.m. this morning. Escapement in the Togiak is an expected 230,000, with an escapement goal range of 120,000 to 270,000.
Naknek-Kvichak
Naknek and Kvichak fishing fleets caught 356,819 fish yesterday; their total is 11,227,672, with a drift delivery of 552 sockeye. They have surpassed the pre-season catch forecast of 7.7 million fish.
Escapement was 71,784 yesterday, for an overall count of 5,892,738 so far. The total run this season in the Naknek-Kvichak District is 17,120,410, exceeding the pre-season forecast of 16 million sockeye.
Naknek River
Naknek tower crews spotted 20,316 fish yesterday, their total is 1,019,178. The Naknek’s escapement estimate is 1.1 million sockeye, and they are within their escapement goal range of 800,000 to 2 million.
Kvichak River
The Kvichak River crews counted 28,746 fish, for a total of 2,885,246. Their escapement forecast is at 4 million fish, and the Kvichak is within their escapement goal range of 2 million to 10 million.
Alagnak
22,722 fish were counted swimming in the Alagnak River yesterday, making their total 1,987,314. The Alagnak River’s escapement is estimated to be 2.7 million sockeye.
Egegik
Egegik fleets brought in 84,535 fish yesterday, making their total catch 7,024,029, with an average drift delivery of 562 sockeye. Egegik has surpassed its pre-season catch forecast of 5.2 million fish.
8,334 spawners were counted passing the towers in Egegik yesterday, making the season’s total escapement 1,366,620 fish. The Egegik river is past its escapement forecast of 1.1 million fish, and they are within their escapement goal range of 800,000 to 2 million.
The total season run so far for Egegik is 8,390,649, and they are past their preseason run forecast of 6.5 million sockeye salmon.
Ugashik
Ugashik fleets brought in 59,419 fish yesterday, their total harvest is 4,632,440, with an average drift delivery of 308 sockeye. Ugashik’s catch forecast is 5.5 million fish.
Escapement in Ugashik was 17,916 yesterday, for a total of 927,018 and escapement is an expected 1.2 million, and they are within their escapement goal range of 500,000 to 1.4 million.
The total season run for Ugashik is 5,559,458, and the preseason run forecast is 6.9 million sockeye.
Chignik River weir
At the Chignik River weir, 24,776 sockeye swam through the weir on Thursday, for a season total of 613,442 so far.
6,287 fish were part of the early run, and 18,489 fish were part of the late run.
Area M
Over in Area M yesterday, fleets harvested 8,271 sockeye on Thursday for a season total of 1,535,749.
3 chinook were caught yesterday, and their overall harvest is 4,053.
Fleets caught 578 chum on Thursday, for a total of 571,962.
500 pinks were caught the other day, their harvest is 465,500.
And 47 cohos were caught on Thursday, their total is 41,566.
A total of 2,618,829 salmon across all species have been caught in Area M this season.
