Fishing in some major Alaska Bristol Bay districts is starting slower than expected.

Districts such as the Egegik, for example, are not seeing the sockeye they should be seeing, according to Tim Sands, a longtime area biologist for Alaska's Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), who monitors Bristol Bay.

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"Based on the genetics we would expect to see a lot more fish in Egegik than we have seen," Sands said.

Data from the Port Moller test fishery, which experts say typically is a good indicator of run strength, has been showing large abundances of Egegik sockeye.

"One theory is the east wind blowing offshore has kept the fish from moving into that district. It is still on the early side too," Sands said of the weaker-than-expected returns.

As of Friday, the run size stands at around 989,000, with a cumulative harvest at 880,000 fish .

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Aaron Tiernan, ADF&G area management biologist for the Egegik/Ugashik district, confirmed with IntraFish Bristol Bay's east side has had about seven days of easterly winds that could be slowing migration from areas such as Port Moller.

"The easterly winds are good for the Nushagak," he said. "When it switches to westerly, it's good for us."

One issue slowing fishing has nothing to do with the weather in the Nushagak. The district opened June 25, a few days later than what is typical because of a new king salmon management conservation plan that has been implemented this year.

"In the Nushagak, we waited longer to start fishing to protect king salmon," This resulted in less harvest and more escapement," Sands said.

As of Friday, the Nushagak escapement was around 2.5 million fish, whereas the harvest was only at around 2.2 million sockeye.

Last October, ADF&G recommended Nushagak River king salmon be listed as a stock of management concern.

In March, following that recommendation, the state's Board of Fisheries took action, approving a new set of triggers to keep fishing closed in the Nushagak District until June 28 unless higher escapement goals were met.

"Now we are fishing harder so hopefully we will have less escapement and more harvest," Sands said.

For Indy Walton, who is currently fishing with his crew in the Nushagak for Silver Bay Seafoods, Wednesday's harvest was a windfall. Walton told IntraFish his crew hauled in 11,000 pounds of sockeye, thanks to "a big productive tide" in the fishing district.

Walton is also using Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite Internet on his boat this year, which he said has been a game changer.

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The technology has helped him not only keep in better contact with his own family as well as his crew's family, but also allows him to "pull up winds and see what direction [the wind] is blowing and how hard in a specific area."

"The fish get pushed by the wind," he added, noting the technology "helps to find the fish."

During the 2022 season, the Nushagak District overall accounted for nearly 37 percent of the Bristol Bay's record-breaking harvest of 60.1 million sockeye salmon.

This year's harvest is predicted to be nearly 38 percent smaller than last year's at 38 million fish.

Larger fish

While fishing might be slower than expected in some districts, predictions for Bristol Bay year-class and size are coming to fruition.

A smaller year for Bristol Bay sockeye salmon harvests is also bringing with it larger fish. Averaging around 5.6 pounds, this year's run includes more sockeye with three years in the ocean making up the population, according to data from Port Moller.

The Bristol Bay run itself is also on time, according to the latest data from the University of Washington. It is expected to peak in the coming couple weeks.

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