STNMTZ_20190709_3276B.tif | George Steinmetz

Drift net fishing boats line up to offload their morning catch of sockeye salmon to a tender in the mouth of the Egegik River.

The fishermen bleed their catch before putting them into tanks of refrigerated sea water, and then transferring them to tenders that rush it back to an on-shore factory for processing. The fishery here is tightly managed by the Alaska Fish and Game biologists, who turn the fishing season on and off multiple times each day after a sustainable amount of fish have passed their monitoring stations up river. This is the peak of the salmon run in Bristol Bay, and the fishing season in the Egegik River can have 4-500 32ft. licensed fishing boats vying for the best catch.

Filename: STNMTZ_20190709_3276B.tif
Copyright: ©2019 George Steinmetz
Image Size: 5464x3640 / 56.9MB; GeorgeSteinmetz.com; food sockeye salmon fish marine life commercial fishing aerial Egegik River Egegik Alaska Bristol Bay drift net fishing boats
Contained in galleries: Global Fisheries

Drift net fishing boats line up to offload their morning catch of sockeye salmon to a tender in the mouth of the Egegik River. <br />
<br />
The fishermen bleed their catch before putting them into tanks of refrigerated sea water, and then transferring them to tenders that rush it back to an on-shore factory for processing. The fishery here is tightly managed by the Alaska Fish and Game biologists, who turn the fishing season on and off multiple times each day after a sustainable amount of fish have passed their monitoring stations up river. This is the peak of the salmon run in Bristol Bay, and the fishing season in the Egegik River can have 4-500 32ft. licensed fishing boats vying for the best catch.