Looking ahead to 2027 in Bristol Bay

University researchers have issued a preliminary harvest forecast of 28.6 million sockeye next year at Bristol Bay.

That would approach this season's respectable catch of 29.8 million sockeye.

Salmon notes

• The Bristol Bay sockeye season is all but over, and the catch is 29.7 million fish. That's a decent tally but well short of the state's preseason forecast of 32.3 million. The Egegik and Nushagak districts led the way this year with each producing a catch of just over 9 million sockeye.

• Elsewhere around Alaska, lagging catches of chum and pink salmon are causing considerable worry. Statewide, the chum harvest was down 61 percent from 2025, and the pink catch was down by more than 90 percent in Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska compared to 2024, a historically low year in those regions, McKinley Research Group reported today for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

• The National Marine Fisheries Service is prohibiting commercial fishing for salmon in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone, effective at 7 a.m. tomorrow. The action is necessary to conserve coho, the agency says. Here are the latest Cook Inlet EEZ catch totals.

Salmon notes

• The Bristol Bay catch now stands at 23.6 million sockeye toward a preseason harvest forecast of 32.3 million.

• Dillingham radio station KDLG has a report on the Northline Seafoods freezer barge and its alliance this season with Silver Bay Seafoods. Listen to it here.

• The Southeast Alaska summer Chinook troll fishery appears to be progressing slowly and will remain open "until further notice," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said yesterday. "Based on landed catch and reported harvest onboard freezer vessels to date, less than 40,000 of the 83,700 Chinook salmon allocation has been harvested over the first 10 days of the fishery."

• Looking farther south, to Canada, the forecasted run size for Fraser River sockeye is 7.7 million fish, the Pacific Salmon Commission reports.

Salmon notes

• Bristol Bay exploded for a Fourth of July catch of more than 2.3 million sockeye, the largest daily catch of the season so far and the first day for a haul exceeding 2 million fish.

• An available surplus of sockeye will allow for a commercial fishery at Goodnews Bay, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced. "Sockeye salmon run strengths in the Kuskokwim area have been increasing over the last 20 years," the department said, noting one commercial processor is registered to buy.

• The long closure in the Copper River District continues. Here's the latest from Fish and Game. The last opener was June 11.

Bristol Bay builds steam

We're now seeing substantial harvest numbers at Bristol Bay, scene of Alaska's richest commercial salmon fishery.

As of this moment, the cumulative catch stands at nearly 11.4 million sockeye. The state forecast calls for a potential harvest of 32.3 million this season.

The Nushagak District on the west side of Bristol Bay is leading the catch with 4.3 million sockeye so far, followed by the eastside Egegik District with 3.6 million.

Fishing effort was concentrated in the Nushagak District with 475 vessels and 673 permits registered there, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said yesterday.

Daily catches baywide have been strong in recent days, well above 1 million fish, providing a steady stream of deliveries to processors. The biggest day was June 28 with 1.8 million fish.

Man overboard in Bristol Bay

A man was reported overboard from a fishing vessel in Bristol Bay this week, and an intensive search failed to locate him.

The Alaska State Troopers identified the missing man as Seth Whiteman, 23, of Eagle River.

U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders on Monday received a report of a man overboard from the F/V Sandman near Egegik Bay, Petty Officer 3rd Class Cameron Snell said.

A seven-hour search ensued involving the cutter Frederick Mann, a helicopter from Air Station Kodiak, the Alaska State Troopers patrol vessel Stimson and state aircraft.

The search was suspended late Monday pending development of new information.

The missing man reportedly was not wearing a life jacket, Snell said.

State records indicate the Sandman belongs to Isaac J. Thistle, of Wasilla.

Bristol Bay eastside salmon announcement No. 1

Read it right here.

Northline barge heads north

Northline Seafoods announced on Facebook today that its 400-foot freezer barge, the Hannah, departed Bellingham for the Bristol Bay salmon fishery.

This is notable, as the company had seen upheaval in recent weeks with the abrupt resignation of its chief executive, Ben Blakey.

This will be the barge's third season packing sockeye in Bristol Bay.

To the best of our knowledge, Northline and its barge are under the control of Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. and Zachary Scott, a Seattle private investment firm.

It's believed Northline might work cooperatively with a larger processor, Silver Bay Seafoods, to handle Bristol Bay salmon catches this summer. But thus far, no company has publicly confirmed such an arrangement.

Silver Bay announces its Bristol Bay starting price

Deckboss found the following "Bristol Bay Fleet Update" floating around on Facebook, and a Silver Bay Seafoods spokesperson verified it.

Bristol Bay Fleet Update

Dear Bristol Bay Fishermen,

Silver Bay Seafoods is pleased to announce the 2026 pre-season price of $1.60/lb for qualifying (chilled, floated, bled) sockeye. This is $.30/lb more than last year's pre-season price and is considered a conservative starting price for the 2026 season.

Please hold the date for pre-season fishermen meetings. Silver Bay Seafoods Management, Board Members, and Fishermen Committee Members will be joining these meetings to talk about company business, market updates, and 2026 fleet operations and support.

Preseason meeting dates:

• Naknek: June 13

• Egegik: June 14

• Dillingham: June 19

Stay tuned for more preseason info. See you soon!

Are you a wanted fisherman?

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recently posted its 2026 commercial salmon fishing outlook for Bristol Bay. It's loaded with interesting notes, including Alaska Wildlife Troopers enforcement priorities.

This one stood out to me:

Fishermen who failed to appear for scheduled court hearings do have outstanding arrest warrants issued by the court. Absconders will be arrested and remanded to jails in either Dillingham or King Salmon, which will result in substantial loss of fishing time. Wildlife Troopers encourage fishermen to address any outstanding arrest warrants.

Y'all been warned!

Congressman Begich draws a fisherman challenger

Independent Bill Hill, a Bristol Bay salmon driftnetter and former teacher, says he'll run against U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska.

Here's his announcement, and here's his bio.

How long is too long in Bristol Bay?

The Alaska Board of Fisheries is set for a six-day meeting starting Tuesday in Anchorage to consider regulatory proposals for Bristol Bay, home to Alaska's richest salmon fishery.

The proposals cover a wide range of concerns, but we're particularly interested in this raft of 10 proposals addressing the bay's longstanding 32-foot length limitation for drift gillnet boats.

Proposals to increase the length limit, which many fishermen feel is outmoded and overly confining, have come before the board and failed regularly since 1991.

Now, we see more proposals. For example, Proposal 83, from fisherman Abe Williams, would extend the length limit to 36 feet. Proposal 84, from fisherman Matt Marinkovich, would extend it to 34 feet, 2 inches.

A major objective for fishermen offering the 10 proposals is clearing up confusion over whether certain attachments may somewhat exceed the 32-foot limit. Attachments include anchor rollers, fish dropout baskets, gillnet rollers, outdrives and outdrive guards, trim tabs, transom coolers and more.

In a letter to the Board of Fisheries, Alaska Wildlife Troopers Capt. Derek DeGraaf said the agency doesn't have an opinion on vessel length, but believes allowing no exceptions is best for enforcement.

"Having a maximum distance from the most forward extremity to the aft extremity eliminates all confusion on what is allowed," DeGraaf wrote.

Relaxing the vessel length limitation in Bristol Bay would be a big deal. Proponents argue bigger boats would be safer with more space aboard to produce better quality products. Others, however, raise concerns about the costs involved and potential for creating competitive mismatches in the fishery.

Could be a lively discussion at the Board of Fisheries.

Bristol Bay forecast is out!

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is forecasting a 2026 Bristol Bay harvest of 32.3 million sockeye salmon.

Last season produced a catch of 41.2 million.

Bristol Bay's incredible staying power

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has released its summary of the 2025 Bristol Bay salmon season, and the numbers are once again impressive.

• This is the 11th year in a row that the total inshore sockeye run exceeded 50 million fish.

• The commercial harvest of 41.2 million sockeye was 18 percent above the preseason forecast.

• Sockeye remained on the small side this season, averaging 5.05 pounds. But that's a big improvement over last season's 4.53 pounds, the smallest average weight on record.

• The sockeye paid a preliminary average ex-vessel price of $1.03 a pound for a total sockeye fishery value of $214.3 million. The average price last year was 89 cents a pound.

New ASMI board members

The governor recently made two appointments to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors.

• Christine O'Connor fills an open harvester seat on the board. She is executive director of the Alaska Telecom Association, ASMI's latest monthly marketing update says. She holds a Bristol Bay salmon setnet permit, the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission database shows.

• Eric Deakin fills a seat designated for a large processor. He is CEO of Coastal Villages Region Fund, one of Alaska's six community development quota organizations.

With these appointments, all seven seats on the ASMI board are now filled.

Bristol Bay's big year

The Bristol Bay sockeye harvest has clicked over 40 million fish.

That's an impressive tally, well above the state's preseason forecast of 34.8 million sockeye and last year's harvest of 31.7 million.

The biggest harvest ever at Bristol Bay was 60.5 million sockeye in 2022.

Salmon notes

• A major Bristol Bay fish processor, Trident Seafoods, is paying a base price of 95 cents a pound for sockeye, Dillingham radio station KDLG reports. That compares to a Bristol Bay average of 89 cents in 2024.

• Bristol Bay's Nushagak District has netted a strong sockeye catch this season. "Harvest in the district is at 15.9 million, the fourth-largest harvest for the Nushagak District ever, but harvest has slowed and fishermen are pulling boats and ending their seasons," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported Friday.

• Fish and Game provided new details on a reported fuel spill at Chignik: "Leaking fuel in the Chignik Lagoon due to a capsized seiner caused the commercial opener on Sunday, July 13, to be prematurely closed in the Chignik Bay District. The fishery was able to reopen on Tuesday, July 15."

Salmon notes

• The Bristol Bay salmon harvest stands at nearly 38 million fish, with daily catches now appearing to slow significantly. Deckboss still hasn't heard anything regarding ex-vessel prices.

• Southeast trollers will get a second summer Chinook opener next month, but the available quota won't be enough for a competitive fishery. So, the Department of Fish and Game plans to divide the quota among registered permit holders. After Aug. 1, the department will announce the number of Chinook per permit, and the dates for the planned 10-day opener.

Salmon notes

• The Bristol Bay salmon catch now stands at 36.4 million fish, surpassing the state's preseason forecast of 34.8 million sockeye.

• Statewide, the all-species salmon harvest now exceeds 54 million fish.

• The state closed commercial fishing Sunday in the Chignik Bay District due to a fuel spill within Chignik Lagoon.

Bristol Bay surges forward

At this moment, the catch in Bristol Bay stands at nearly 27 million salmon, with big hauls still coming in. Fishermen caught more than 2.5 million yesterday.

This is shaping up as a fine season, with the state's preseason forecast of nearly 35 million sockeye well within reach.

Now, let's see what kind of price the processors pay once fishermen begin to pull their boats and head home.