According to the information available the fishermen in Bristol Bay have harvested nearly 30 million salmon, by far exceeding the 20-year harvest average of 25 million reds in the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. Slim Morstad, an area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told that some 1,600-permit holders participated in the Bristol Bay fishery this year, about an average turnout of fishermen.
There is no doubt that the region is a rich source of salmon supporting commercial, sport and subsistence users, and generating millions of dollars in fisheries income, as well as sustenance for area wildlife. Still, Dillingham fisherman Robin Samuelsen, business executive and chairman of the board of Ocean Beauty Seafoods, said the domestic processors need to increase their processing capabilities.
Samuelsen, president and chief executive officer of Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp., which owns 50 percent of Ocean Beauty Seafoods, informed that limits on harvests imposed by the processors have resulted in $360 million in lost borough taxes and pay to fishermen. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will continue to set fishing periods in Bristol Bay until July 27, when the fall fishing schedule goes into effect, allowing harvests from 9 a.m. Mondays through 9 a.m. Fridays each week.
