The fishing is great in Bristol Bay! To date, over 25 million fish have been harvested in the entire fishery, which is roughly 125 millions pounds of sockeye salmon.
Processors have put limits on the fishermen at times, so they can keep up with all the fish coming into the plant. Instead of compromising quality, they'll give the fishermen a limit of how much they can catch during the opener. We had several days of 4,000 lb. limits, and two days of no fishing at all. It's super frustrating to see fish jumping all around you and not be able to catch them! The silver lining is that it gives you an excuse to get caught up on sleep and boat projects. From talking to Mike, I don't think he caught up on sleep, but he got a lot of other things done ;-) He always says "I'll sleep in September."
The Naknek district has had some very strong days, and Mike has been tempted to switch districts, but for now, he's staying put in Egegik. They've had a couple slow days lately, but the Port Moller Test Fishery shows more fish headed their way soon. The Port Moller Test Fishery (PMTF) is conducted each year to help processors, fishermen, and fishery managers assess the timing, composition, and abundance of sockeye salmon returning to commercial fishing districts in Bristol Bay.
We hope you're enjoying these weekly updates from the Bay and look forward to sending you a share of our catch!
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The time has come when sleep comes in two hour chunks and the deck of the Courageous is filled with fish. The crew is working around the clock, harvesting the world's best wild Alaska sockeye salmon to fill your freezers.
The F/V Courageous is currently in the Nushagak fishing district with about 650 other boats, waiting for the sockeye salmon to strike.
We've been super busy with preseason tasks the past few weeks, and now the F/V Courageous and its crew are on their way to Bristol Bay.