It is informed that the peak of the sockeye run is on its way. The second pulse of fish gives processing crews barely enough time to catch their breath after last week’s huge haul of 10 million reds, taken throughout the Bay in about three days. The major processing companies were unable to handle the plug of fish, and on June 28 they put fishermen on catch limits, the earliest date ever; some suspended buying altogether.
Susie Jenkins is a “company liaison” at the ADF&G office in Dillingham, where she is in daily contact with fishermen and processors. She said that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when they’ll be here, but the big push of the run is yet to come. She added that the fishermen have been told they are going to work hard to keep them off limits and bring more tenders into the bay. This is the sixth season in a row that they’ve gone on limits, and they’ve been caught unprepared.
A study last year by the Juneau-based McDowell Group found that 37 million fish worth $131 million to fishermen went unharvested at Bristol Bay in the past five years. In 2009 that number is still climbing.
