Even though the final days of the sockeye salmon season in Bristol Bay hadn’t yet been fished, fishermen felt a mood swing reminiscent of last season in terms of what went into their wallets. To some, the prospects of fishing the Bay each season may come down to crunching out the cost of maintaining the commercial fishing lifestyle. “I have a headline for this year’s Bristol Bay season,” texted a fisherman who was running his boat toward the yard for dry dock storage. “More stagger than swagger…

You've caught the limit!

Free membership gives you access to:

  • Unrestricted access to all NationalFisherman.com articles.
  • Receive in-depth reports and research on various topics related to the fishing industry.
  • Up-to-date news updates from the fishing industry delivered directly to your inbox twice a week.

Join the Community 

Have you listened to this article via the audio player?

If so, send us your feedback around what we can do to improve this feature or further develop it. If not, check it out and let us know what you think via email or on social media.

Charlie Ess is the North Pacific Bureau Chief for National Fisherman.

Join the Conversation

Primary Featured
Yes