Bristol Bay
RSSBristol Bay region news
Local organizations and topics
Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
Have a story from Bristol Bay? Send a tip
Week of Aug 31
Ekwok's airport would host FAA weather and navigation equipment for 20 years, with comments due Sept. 11
Ekwok's airport would host FAA weather and navigation equipment for 20 years at no cost to the state, with public comments due Sept. 11.

BBNC offers CDL training in Kenai for shareholders this fall
BBNC is offering commercial driver's license training in Kenai this fall for its Alaska-resident shareholders, spouses and descendants. Enrollment is open now.

BBNC shareholders have until Sept. 30 to return proxies
BBNC shareholders must complete an education and employment survey by Oct. 9 to help the corporation track job and training prospects.

Bids open for flights to seven roadless Alaska communities
The federal government is taking bids for subsidized air service to seven Alaska communities, with deadlines ranging from October through early 2027, as the per-passenger subsidy cap drops to $850.

The Peninsula caribou hunt opens Dec. 1 without a quota set
Alaska residents can take two caribou in the Northern Alaska Peninsula hunt opening Dec. 1, though the quota will not be set until fall surveys finish.

BBNC Dillingham IT apprenticeship applications close Friday
BBNC is hiring one IT apprentice in Dillingham, applications close Friday, Sept. 4. The one-year role includes CompTIA certifications and requires BBNC or Choggiung shareholder status.

CDC placed $2 million with an Anchorage firm without competition
CDC awarded $2 million in one-year contracts to Anchorage-based Eagle Health Analytics for emerging infectious disease and Ebola response work, running through September 2027.

Week of Aug 24
Bristol Bay corporation's Anchorage arm takes $2.7 million Interior repair order
Anchorage contractor CCI Facility Contractors won a $2.7 million contract to repair water leaks at a former Interior Department building in Washington, D.C.

More from Bristol Bay
A gale warning hits Bristol Bay and Aleutian waters Wednesday, with a second storm right behind
A gale warning hits Bristol Bay and Aleutian waters Wednesday, with winds topping 34 knots and seas to 11 feet, and a second storm is right behind it.

Hill runs second in Alaska's unofficial U.S. House primary count
Independent Bill Hill, a Bristol Bay fisherman, finished second in Alaska's U.S. House primary with 31% and advances to November against incumbent Republican Nick Begich.

AFN holds a subsistence listening session in Fairbanks on Aug. 31
The Alaska Federation of Natives holds a subsistence listening session in Fairbanks on Aug. 31, gathering harvesters' and elders' input on the future of subsistence.

Week of Aug 17
The state is studying a walking path between Naknek and King Salmon
People walk the highway between Naknek and King Salmon with no separated path. The state has started studies on a $6.87 million pathway between the towns.

Charter plane crash at Cape Newenham radar site kills eight
Eight people died when a charter plane crashed on approach to the Cape Newenham radar site in western Alaska. Two pilots and six passengers were aboard.

Bristol Bay 2027 sockeye forecast to fall below 50 million, ending an 11-year run
Bristol Bay's sockeye run is forecast at 44.2 million for 2027, which would end an eleven-year streak above 50 million. The state still grades that strong.

Alaska tribes get their yearly say on Head Start funding, against a backdrop of documented shortfalls
Alaska tribes running Head Start get their annual say next month on how the program's money is divided, amid research finding tribal programs underfunded.

Sockeye are running so strong in Bristol Bay that anglers can now keep twice as many
Sockeye are running so strong in Bristol Bay's Wood River and Nushagak drainages that the state has doubled the daily bag limit to 10 fish through year's end.

About Bristol Bay
Bristol Bay is a coastal region of southwest Alaska that includes the Bristol Bay Borough and communities such as Dillingham, Naknek, King Salmon, Togiak and Iliamna. Its rivers, among them the Nushagak and the Wood, feed the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery.
Commercial salmon fishing organizes the region's economy, and the openings, closures and escapement goals set for districts such as Naknek, Egegik, Nushagak and Togiak recur, along with enforcement by wildlife troopers. King salmon conservation, sport and subsistence limits, and gales on its waters shape the fishing seasons.
Bristol Bay Native Corporation, whose shareholders elect its board, plays a large part in regional life. Federal restrictions on the Pebble mine and calls for permanent protection of the watershed involve the corporation, the state and the EPA. The region borders the Alaska Peninsula and the Bering Sea, where crab fisheries are managed.
More from Bristol Bay
The state wants to renew a rent-free landfill lease for 55 years, on land it holds in trust for a village that never became a city
The state wants a 55-year, rent-free renewal of a landfill lease on land it holds in trust for South Naknek, a village that never became a city.

The fate of the EPA veto blocking Pebble Mine is now in a federal judge's hands
A federal judge is deciding whether the EPA veto blocking Pebble Mine survives, a fight over Bristol Bay salmon with Alaska Native parties on both sides.

Bristol Bay Native Corporation, pne of Alaska's largest companies, is remaking part of its top leadership
Bristol Bay Native Corporation, one of Alaska's largest companies, is remaking its top ranks, moving new leaders into its chief operating and financial roles.

Week of Aug 10
An Anchorage firm will repair the State Department's headquarters
An Anchorage Alaska Native-owned firm won a federal order for emergency repairs to the State Department's headquarters — one of three out-of-state jobs.

The FAA is rewiring Alaska's air routes from beacons to GPS
The FAA is rebuilding Alaska's air routes, trading old ground beacons for GPS — and an Oct. 29 batch of changes gives King Salmon a better-connected path.
Sand Point fishermen get 61 hours on the water — in a fishery the rest of Alaska watches closely
Sand Point fishermen get 61 hours on the water — in an Area M fishery watched across Alaska for catching chum bound for the struggling Yukon and Kuskokwim.

Week of Aug 3
A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive, her dog by her side
A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive five miles off a trail, her dog beside her the whole time, having chased off a bear at one point.

Alaska schools could face a choice between internet and teachers if a federal subsidy is cut
A federal review could cut E-Rate, the subsidy that sent $203.5M to Alaska schools and libraries last year — and school boards warn it's internet or teachers.

A free clinic helps BBNC shareholders decide who inherits their shares
A free Dillingham clinic Aug. 13 lets BBNC shareholders write stock wills, choosing who inherits their shares instead of leaving it to default law.

AFN gathers Dillingham voices on the future of subsistence
AFN holds a four-hour listening session in Dillingham on Aug. 12 to gather subsistence harvesters' input on how Alaska's subsistence future should be managed.

NWS forecast calls for 1 to 2 more inches of rain in Southwest Alaska
A Bering Sea storm will drop 1 to 2 more inches of rain across Southwest Alaska through Tuesday, with sustained winds pushing water levels up to 1 foot above normal along the Bristol Bay coast.

No heat closes Dillingham's job center counter early
A heating failure closed walk-in service at Dillingham's Bristol Bay Job Center on Tuesday afternoon, sending staff home at noon and cutting counter hours short.

Week of Jul 27
National money is pouring into Alaska's two big races, on every side
National money is flooding Alaska's Senate and House races on all sides, from a dark-money-linked PAC backing Bill Hill to $10.6 million reserved for Mary Peltola.

Bristol Bay hit its sockeye forecast. Prices are a different story.
Bristol Bay caught nearly as many sockeye as last year but is running 40% behind on value. Strong run, soft prices.

Begich holds front-runner's edge as Hill emerges from the field to challenge him
Begich enters Alaska's U.S. House primary the clear front-runner on money and polling; independent Bill Hill emerged as a leading challenger after a Democrat dropped out. Vote Aug. 18.

Nushagak kings close on the calendar, not on a recovery
Nushagak-Mulchatna kings close Friday, release-only to the end. The restrictions lift on the calendar even though projected passage is less than half the goal.

An Ekwok safety officer was assaulted doing the job alone
An Ekwok village safety officer was assaulted at the clinic following up on a case — the risk of being the lone law enforcement in a remote village.

Homer fisherman cited for fishing closed waters in Bristol Bay
A Homer fisherman cited for fishing closed waters in Egegik heads to court Aug. 7 — a case that lands on Bristol Bay's tight fishing clock and who it's built to protect.

Begich bill would make Alaska trawlers carry salmon excluder gear
Alaska's delegation wants trawlers to carry salmon excluders and seafloor sensors, as bycatch keeps killing Chinook from western Alaska's collapsed runs.

A rare stretch of 75-degree heat is coming to Bristol Bay this week, could disrupt berry picking and fishing
Bristol Bay is due for 70 to 75 degrees Wednesday and Thursday — heat this region sees about once a year, and enough to interrupt summer subsistence.

Portland fisherman cited for fishing during a closed period in Kvichak Section
Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited a Portland fisherman for illegal netting in Bristol Bay. This is one of 11 recent enforcement cases.

Alaska opens all of Togiak to fishing with the sockeye count far below goal
Alaska is opening the whole Togiak District to commercial fishing with the sockeye count at a fraction of its goal — and no stated reason why.

Week of Jul 20
Togiak sockeye escapement far below goal as fishing cuts loom
Low Fish counts lead to questions on season in Togiak

Two Washington men cited for fishing Bristol Bay while it was closed in Naknek
Two Washington men — one 67, one 21 — got cited for fishing Bristol Bay's Naknek District while it was closed, plus three more counts each.
