Bristol Bay is hauling in millions of sockeye — and it's still a down year

By almost any measure, the numbers coming out of Bristol Bay are staggering. The fishery's fleets have already landed more than 26 million sockeye salmon this season, including 17.7 million across the three eastside districts and another 8.5 million on the Nushagak side — enough fish to make most of the world's fisheries look small.

And this is a slow year. Fish and Game forecast a total run of about 45 million sockeye for 2026, roughly a quarter below the bay's 10-year average. Bristol Bay is simply so productive that even a down season here dwarfs a good year almost anywhere else.

The boats know it. The Naknek-Kvichak District alone went from 393 registered vessels on July 10 to 471 three days later, with more than 500 expected within days, as managers keep the districts opening in a rapid sequence to move fish while enough salmon still escape upriver to spawn.