The 2026 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon season is beginning to take shape, with early catches concentrated in the Ugashik District and fishery managers reporting that run timing remains on track with preseason expectations.
According to the June 19 KDLG Bristol Bay Fisheries Report, fishermen across the bay have harvested 151,668 sockeye salmon so far this season, including 31,167 fish landed on Thursday. Total run strength has reached 199,369 fish, while cumulative escapement stands at 47,701 fish.
This year's forecast calls for an inshore run of 44.1 million sockeye salmon. While that projection is 26 percent below the recent 10-year average, it remains 21 percent above the long-term average run of 37.4 million fish.
Ugashik has accounted for the bulk of the early harvest. Fishermen there landed 27,813 sockeye on Thursday, bringing the district's cumulative catch to 107,281 fish. The district's inshore run is forecast at 5.2 million fish, with a projected harvestable surplus of approximately 4.3 million fish after escapement needs are met.
Egegik's cumulative catch has reached 38,784 fish. Escapement counts there climbed to 2,658 sockeye after 2,340 fish passed the counting towers Thursday. The district is forecast to receive an 8.9 million fish run, with a potential harvestable surplus of 7.5 million fish.
In the Nushagak District, fishermen harvested 3,354 sockeye Thursday, bringing the season catch to 5,603 fish. The district's total run is estimated at 18.39 million fish, the largest forecast among Bristol Bay's management districts.
The Nushagak River sonar counted 12,957 sockeye Thursday, pushing cumulative escapement to 39,307 fish, with an additional 10,000 fish reportedly moving past the sonar Friday morning. Chinook returns also continue to build, with 877 kings counted Thursday and 4,590 recorded for the season.
On the Wood River, 4,638 sockeye passed the counting tower Thursday, bringing cumulative passage to 5,736 fish. Managers expect a 6.43 million fish run into the system this year.
Elsewhere around the bay, tower crews in Naknek recently installed counting equipment and expect escapement data to begin flowing soon. Igushik River counts are scheduled to begin June 25, while Togiak crews are expected to start operations around July 4.
Fishermen continue arriving in Bristol Bay as the season ramps up. As of June 19, there were 395 active permits registered on 271 vessels bay-wide, along with 124 DBoats. Egegik and Ugashik currently host the largest concentrations of fishing effort.
The Port Moller Test Fishery is also providing encouraging signals for fishermen. Crews reported that strong catches in inshore areas dramatically increased the Daily Catch Index, while stock composition sampling suggests run timing remains closely aligned with preseason forecasts.
Stock composition estimates from June 16-17 showed significant contributions from Nushagak and Wood River-bound fish, which accounted for more than 72 percent of sampled sockeye. The Wood River component made up 40.7 percent of sampled fish, followed by Nushagak at 31.5 percent.
Across the Alaska Peninsula, Area M fishermen have already harvested more than 2.14 million salmon of all species this season. Sockeye account for the majority of that catch, with 1.19 million fish landed through June 18. Most harvest activity has occurred on the South Peninsula around South Unimak and the Shumagin Islands.
Meanwhile, a major issue outside the fishing grounds continues to draw attention in the region. Earlier this year, United Tribes of Bristol Bay Executive Director Alannah Acaq Hurley received the Goldman Environmental Prize for her work opposing the proposed Pebble Mine development. Additional oral arguments related to ongoing Pebble Mine litigation are scheduled for June 25 in U.S. District Court in Anchorage.
For now, however, Bristol Bay fishermen remain focused on the season ahead as harvests build and managers continue tracking what is expected to be another strong sockeye run.
