Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s 2022 Bristol Bay salmon forecast calls for a run of 75-plus million sockeye. If it comes true, it would establish a new record for the second year in a row. (D. CLARK/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE)
ALASKA BEAT TWEET OF THE MONTH
HERE COME THE SOCKEYE! A
fter 2021’s record-setting return of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon – a total of 63.1 million fish shattered a decades-old mark – expect more of the same as an even more impressive number of reds is predicted back in 2022. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecast a massive 75 million sockeye to return this year. In total, ADFG projected a total run of 75.27 million fish, which includes an escapement of 13.46 million and a harvestable surplus of 61.82 million. “This is 44 percent larger than the most recent 10-year average of Bristol Bay total runs (52.09 million) and 111 percent greater than the long-term (1963– 2021) average of 35.73 million fish,” ADFG’s report read. “All systems are expected to meet their spawning escapement goals. The forecast range is the upper and lower values of the 80-percent confidence interval for the total run forecast.” And you wonder why this region has fought so hard to keep the Pebble Mine out of this salmon-rich ecosystem!
BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CARIBOU? Contrast the enthusiasm for the increasing number of salmon coming back to Bristol Bay with concerns about declining numbers of caribou in Alaska, including in the same vicinity where Bristol Bay sockeye are thriving. The Mulchatna Herd, which roams land in and around Bristol Bay and other regions of Southwest Alaska, numbered around 200,000 caribou as recently as the early 1990s. But a 2019 survey totaled just about 13,000. And according to reports, the herd is hovering around 12,800 these days. Subsistence hunters objected to the closure of all Mulchatna hunts for 2022, something that hasn’t happened in years. Kenton Moos, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Mulchatna Herd biologist, told KYUK Public Media that it’s not clear what the main reason for such a steep decrease in the caribou population is. But whatever the main culprit, the frustration level is high.
“my daddio doesn’t have social media but I feel the need to share these because he’s finally getting to mark duck hunting in Alaska off his bucket list. He works in healthcare, the past 2 years have been rough. The pure joy on his face makes me so happy.” -@amp0219 on Dec. 6
NOTABLE NUMBER
233.8
MILLION The number of salmon harvested by commercial fishermen in Alaska waters in 2021, per the state Department of Fish and Game
aksportingjournal.com | JANUARY 2022
ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL
11
