Tag Archives: Egegik

Fishermen from urban areas and out of state hold big share of permits in world’s largest sockeye run.

In 1975, an Alaska state law, bitterly contested and extensively litigated, wrought a profound change in the Bristol Bay fishery. It capped the number of people who could fish there and vested them with permits that could be used each year or sold to the highest bidder. The state Legislature made the big change two years earlier in an era when many in the seafood industry were worried about oversized fleets chasing then-depressed stocks of salmon. This had far reaching consequences for local bay communities, where many permits once held by local residents have shifted through the decades to fishermen living in urban parts of Alaska or to Washington and other states. As of 2020, Alaskans hold 44% of the 1,862 drift gillnet fleet permits, and 64% of the 964 permits to fish from beaches with setnets. Photos, >click to read< 10:18

Coast Guard to Conduct Dockside Fishing Vessel Exams for Bristol Bay

The Coast Guard will offer courtesy dockside examinations of commercial fishing vessels in Bristol Bay in anticipation of the 2019 Bristol Bay salmon fishery season. The Coast Guard anticipates sending examiners to the following locations for public outreach and to encourage dockside exam participation: King Salmon: June 6-21, Dillingham: June 10-20, Egegik: June 13-18.,,, In 2018, several fishermen died after falling overboard. None of them were wearing life jackets. The Coast Guard continues to strongly recommend that all fishermen wear life jackets when on the deck of any vessel.
Vessel operators are reminded,,, >click to read<12:25

Some fishing expected in Egegik and Igushik this week, and Port Moller test effort underway

The Port Moller Test Fishery made its first sets this weekend, catching 12 then 20 sockeye on its out-and-back from stations 2 to 12. A little bit of commercial activity is expected this week in Bristol Bay, with managers and the market trying to get a sense of the early part of the run. The R/V Pandalus went out and back for its first test of the Bristol Bay offshore run over the weekend. On Saturday, (3) sockeye were caught in the 4 1/2 inch mesh, and (9) in the 5 1/8 inch, with most of the activity towards the inshore stations. On Sunday, after six sets, the boat recorded (12) fish caught in the four-and-a-half, and (8) in the five-and-an-eighth. Station 4 saw the most activity. Last year the first sets saw about the same number of fish, but the water temperatures are almost three degrees (Celcius) cooler than they were in the first sets in 2016. Audio report, click here to hear/read the story 10:28