Bristol Bay Sockeye Run Goes From Bust To Unbelievable

The world’s biggest sockeye salmon run at Bristol Bay went from bust to unbelievable in a week.

Landings last week broke records on five days, bringing the total sockeye catch to nearly 28 million fish in an unusually late run — and the reds were still coming.

Overloaded processors scurried to replace workers they’d sent home the previous week, when the big forecasted run was deemed a no-show. The late surge of sockeyes also left many fishermen frustrated with limits to their catches, while some tenders were already trekking to other regions to process red salmon. It remains to be seen how long the run will last and if it will produce the projected catch of 38 million reds. 

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