A recent study by the McKinley Research Group estimates that Bristol Bay’s commercial salmon industry generated $2 billion in economic benefit and an average of 15,000 jobs in 2019. The 57-page study was published in February by “Bristol Bay Defense Fund,” a coalition of regional Tribes, businesses and conservation groups that support permanent federal protections at the region’s headwaters.
The new report, called “The Economic Benefits of Bristol Bay Salmon,” bridges a three year gap in analyzing the value of the region’s salmon industry. Rebecca Braun is with McKinley Research Group and worked on the new report.
“The most recent time was published in 2018,” said Rebecca Braun, who is with McKinley Research Group and worked on the new report. “It mostly relied on 2016 data cause of a lag. This group was interested in updating the numbers and expanding what we looked at and we were kind of excited about that too.”
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