Dear Clients and Friends of Blue Summit,
I’ve returned safely from another season in Bristol Bay. With the wettest July in recent history, we had some tough weather and fog to deal with, but we still had a great season. The whole of Bristol Bay experienced it’s largest sockeye run ever with over 65 million fish. For reference, the average for the past 50+ years is closer to 40 million.
This record season shows Bristol Bay’s sockeye management is working, said Tim Sands, an area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “I think it’s a shining beacon of sustainable management,” he said. “We’ve been prosecuting the commercial salmon fishery management since 1884 and we are still able to set records on total runs, and I think that speaks to the escapement-based management that we use and it’s great.” Escapement-based management means that each river has a minimum amount of salmon that biologists want to get upriver each year. This ensures healthy future runs. In 2021, the escapement was over 25 million fish, by far the largest escapement achieved in recent history for Bristol Bay.
This season more than ever, I realized the importance of having a great team around me. My crew was outstanding this year, making lemonade out of lemons and keeping morale high despite rough conditions. We had a lot of fun! Like the team at Blue Summit, I was grateful to be working with such inspired and devoted people. It makes all the difference.
Settling into life back in San Diego has been wonderful. I truly look forward to catching up with all of you and continuing our work together.