Nushagak Commercial Fishing District

Set netters and drifters in the Nushagak section had their first opener today. Wood River escapement has passed the 100,000-fish floor for commercial fishing to open. Egegik is above its 2019 escapement, but about half a million lower than last year’s harvest.

Every season comes with its big fish stories, but Dillingham's Allison O’Brien told KDLG’s Austin Fast about a different kind of big catch that altogether derailed her one morning last week.

Many Bristol Bay salmon processors give bonuses to fishermen who can chill the fish sitting in their boat’s hold. That’s not so easy, though, when ice is in short supply. 

Bristol Bay’s salmon run surpassed its preseason forecast Wednesday and hit 54.9 million on Thursday. How much longer will this incredible run keep trucking along? We look into it on our last regular broadcast of the Bristol Bay Fisheries Report this summer.

Mud is the tie that binds all set netters together, but some are better than others at traipsing through the gloop. We found three fishermen who couldn’t stop gushing about it.

Another record falls for the Nushagak district: Total run blew past last year's record of 20.27 million on Monday. What's more, Wood River escapement could top last year's record by more than 2 million. 

Not to sound like a broken record, but 2018 seems to be all about breaking records in Bristol Bay. The Nushagak District just hit an all-time best harvest of 12.4 million, topping last year's record. 

The Nushagak District has been harvesting about 1 million fish every day for a week now, so what happens when you inexplicably miss out on that bounty? KDLG’s Austin Fast discovers that one key to fishing is to just keep plugging away.

Every couple of days during salmon season, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports how many sockeye from each age class are returning to Bristol Bay. KDLG's Austin Fast followed their catch samplers for a day to see how they get those numbers.

Salmon usually pass through many hands on their way from ocean waves to the table, but not for Christopher Wang of San Francisco. He’s a deckhand on the F/V Marion Ruth who single-handedly completes most of the salmon supply chain as a fisherman, direct marketer and private chef all rolled into one.

Fishermen faced blustery bouts of rain Tuesday at Dillingham’s small boat harbor, but that’s not dampening their enthusiasm for Wednesday's commercial drift net opener in the Nushagak and Igushik sections.

Dillingham's annexation petition is on hold to let Manokotak's catch up.

The Dillingham City Council has delayed the decision about moving forward with the proposed annexation of the Nushagak Commercial Fishing District. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the details.