Monday July 25, 2022
Anchorage Daily News —
The Bristol Bay fishing season is wrapping up. The bay had a record sockeye salmon return this season. The salmon run, upwards of 70 million, was far and away the largest in recorded history. The catch was also at record levels. However, the roses were not necessarily for everyone.
When we speak of Bristol Bay, one is not talking about a single entity. The bay is composed of five individual fishing districts. Each district is a headed by separate river systems. The rivers have their own salmon runs, marginally connected with each other.
For instance, the Nushagak district on the west side, headed by the Nushagak, Wood and Igushik rivers, returned its second-largest sockeye run ever. On the east side, the Naknek/Kvichak area, had a good run, but nowhere near a record.
Two other districts, Egigik and Ugashik, had excellent sockeye runs, certainly in their top five, but again, not all-time highs. The last district, tiny Togiak, is separated from the rest of the bay by Cape Constantine and restrictive regulations. Togiak is having an average run of sockeye.