The Port Moller Test Fishery got up and running Sunday, trying to predict how many sockeye salmon will return to each district of Bristol Bay. Now in its 51st year, the test fishery is adding a second boat for the first time to sample stations further offshore.
Ugashik put away 400,000 fish yesterday, and one tender says it was the best day yet in that district. Naknek-Kvichak still going. Plus, a genetics guy talks about where the fish are headed after they swim past Port Moller.
Did Port Moller just peak, and what does that mean for the 2016 run? We try to figure that out, and we step back to think about how much Alaskans love salmon.
Still a waiting game in Bristol Bay today - Westside Manager Tim Sands tells us why we're waiting for Nushagak Drifters to get a chance to wet their lines, and in the meantime, Kate Consenstein fills us in on plans to market Bristol Bay sockeye to Boulder foodies.
Dear Bristol Bay – we’re pretty sure you hit a million sockeye total run today; 40-some-odd-million more to go, and Port Moller indicates a few more should be on the way. Plus, we hear about how power plants could produce ice on the side.
Bristol Bay fishermen had their biggest haul of the season July 8, with about 1.7 million sockeye harvested, including 1 million from the Naknek-Kvichak district.
Tonight we look for a little analysis of the run so far, and hear that we might not see the projected 54 million fish after all. Or they might show up in a big wall.
Tonight's BBFR looks at Port Moller test fishery and west side numbers, boats en route to the Bay, and what west side fishermen do to stay cool on an 85-degree afternoon.
The Bristol Bay Fisheries Report for July 12 includes a story about long-time Naknek-Kvichak Area Management Biologist Slim Morstad and an update on how things are looking in the Togiak District. The report also includes the latest in-season run forecast from the Bristol Bay Science and Research Institute. They are predicting the run will top 40-million fish.
Sockeye catches through the Port Moller Test Fishery dropped off a bit on Wednesday compared to the huge catches recorded on Tuesday. 136-sockeye were caught on Wednesday. The catch at station 2 was 32-sockeye. That’s the largest daily catch of the season at that station.
