2023 Project Reports & Presentations

Port Moller Test Fishery
The primary goal of the Port Moller Test Fishery (PMTF) is to predict run strength of Sockeye Salmon traveling past Port Moller approximately one week prior to their arrival in the various terminal commercial fishing districts of Bristol Bay. PMTF gives Bristol Bay fishermen, processors, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) time to respond to suspected departures from the preseason forecasts. The Port Moller Test Fishery has two vessels (R/V Ocean Cat and the R/V Miss Leona ) that test fish out from Port Moller. The onboard lab on one of the vessels provides laboratory analysis for stock composition estimates. Read a summary of the 2023 test fishery season here.

2022 Price Report
BBRSDA contracted with Ocean Strategies to conduct a post-season survey of the Bristol Bay fleet with a focus on price, incentives and services offered to fishermen. This report reflects the responses and information provided by the respondents and has not been verified with the processors in Bristol Bay. The information in the report comes from 101 responses collected from S03T permit holders between October 13 - November 1, 2022.

2022 Project Reports & Presentations

Port Moller Test Fishery
BBRSDA supported the Port Moller test fishery through two important projects in 2022, the Onboard Genetic Analysis Project and the charter of a new vessel, the R/V Halfmoon Bay.

Report: Northern Economics 2021 Processor Survey - (Posted February 2022) Prepared by Northern Economics, Inc., the annual processor survey gathers prior season information from Bristol Bay processors. This survey captures raw product data, finished product forms, chilled product volumes and quality impact, ice production capacity, and respondents’ opinions of trends and priorities within the fishery. 

2021 Project Reports & Presentations

Explanation of Fishery Price & Options for Fleet Consideration - White Paper
After a low ex-vessel price in 2020, this paper addresses “what is going on” by summarizing market conditions and offers a list of options for fleet consideration, so the fleet may decide “what can be done”.
Summary
Full White Paper

Report: 2021 Year-end Marketing Report - Prepared by Rising Tide Communications. Despite the continued global pandemic, the BBRSDA marketing program had another successful year. On the retail side, Bristol Bay grew from 2,200 promotions in 2020 to 3,296 promotions in 2021 - a nearly 50% increase. The average “lift” experienced by our retail partners during our promotions is 42%.

Report: Northern Economics 2020 Processor Survey - (Posted May 2021) Prepared by Northern Economics, Inc., the annual processor survey gathers prior season information from Bristol Bay processors. This survey captures raw product data, finished product forms, chilled product volumes and quality impact, ice production capacity, and respondents’ opinions of trends and priorities within the fishery. 

2020 Project Reports & Presentations

Report: 2020 Year-end Marketing Report - (Posted Feb 2021) Prepared by Rising Tide Communications. Although there was a lot of uncertainty and difficult decisions in 2020, the marketing program is forging ahead with lots of great tools to continue to promote Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon and connect with industry and consumers alike. 

UW Lifecycle Assessment Research - assessing the environmental footprint of the Bristol Bay sockeye fishery by Dr. Ray Hilborn, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington. This work was utilized in subsequent research publications, see links below:

  • Friederike Ziegler, Ray Hilborn, Fished or farmed: Life cycle impacts of salmon consumer decisions and opportunities for reducing impacts, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 854, 2023, 158591, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158591.

  • Mark T. Brown, Silvio Viglia, Dave Love, Frank Asche, Elizabeth Nussbaumer, Jillian Fry, Ray Hilborn, Roni Neff, Quantifying the environmental support to wild catch Alaskan sockeye salmon and farmed Norwegian Atlantic Salmon: An emergy approach, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 369, 2022, 133379, ISSN 0959-6526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133379.

  • Bianchi, M., Hallström, E., Parker, R.W.R. et al. Assessing seafood nutritional diversity together with climate impacts informs more comprehensive dietary advice. Commun Earth Environ 3, 188 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00516-4.

  • Silvio Viglia, Mark T. Brown, David C. Love, Jillian Fry, Roni A. Neff, Ray Hilborn, Wild caught Alaska sockeye salmon: A case study of the food energy water nexus for a sustainable wild catch fishery, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 369, 2022, 133263, LINK.

  • Ray Hilborn Presentation to BBRSDA (slide deck): Assessing the environmental footprint of the Bristol Bay sockeye fishery. November 2020, LINK.

VIDEO: Stop Pebble Mine TV Spot - BBRSDA produced a television commercial which aired in Alaska during October 2020, highlighting the important value of pristine salmon habitat in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

UW Bristol Bay Sockeye Research & Forecasting - The University of Washington’s Alaska Salmon Program produces pre-season forecasts, conducts in-season research, and provides detailed daily updates of run progression during the season. Beginning this year with support from a BBRSDA grant, UW researchers integrated machine-learning improvements into its forecasts for the 2021 Bristol Bay sockeye run. Find the forecast and more info below:

  • UW Alaska Salmon Program website - LINK

  • UW’s 2021 Bristol Bay Sockeye Forecast - LINK

  • ADF&G 2021 Bristol Bay Sockeye Forecast - LINK

  • UW Forecasting Using Machine Learning - PROJECT SUMMARY

  • UW Forecasting Using Machine Learning - VIDEO PRESENTATION

Bristol Bay Fisheries Collaborative & Port Moller Test Fishery - Prepared by the Bristol Bay Science and Research Institute (BBSRI) and made possible in part by funding from BBRSDA through the Bristol Bay Fisheries Collaborative (BBFC), the Port Moller Test Fishery (PMTF) is conducted each year to help processors, fishermen, and fishery managers assess the timing, composition, and abundance of sockeye salmon returning to commercial fishing districts in Bristol Bay.

  • BBSRI Homepage - LINK

  • PMTF Homepage - LINK

  • PMTF 2020 Annual Report - LINK

  • BBFC Homepage - LINK

  • BBFC 2019 Annual Report - LINK

Pebble Seismic Reports and USACE Letter - (Posted June 2020) Following up on concerns regarding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ risk analysis of seismic activity in the proposed Pebble Mine project area, BBRSDA and other industry partners commissioned an independent seismic analysis. The report finds several significant faults with the Army Corps analysis, including obsolete seismic modeling, incomplete information, concerns about tailings dam stability, and acid rock drainage.

  • BBDA Letter to U.S. Army Corps RE: New Technical Information Relevant to the Environmental Review for the Pebble Mine - LINK

  • Exhibit A: Pebble Mine Geohazard and Tailings Dam Analyses - LINK

  • Exhibit B: Seismic Hazard Analysis for the Pebble Mine Project - LINK

  • Exhibit C: Final Stability Report - LINK

Digital Observer + Seafood Analytics Certified Quality Reader Project - This project field-tested the second generation of Seafood Analytics’ Certified Quality Reader (CQR) machines by measuring the freshness of salmon at the time of delivery. In July 2020, five Quality Control Technicians, employed by Digital Observer, Inc., deployed on five Bristol Bay tenders sampled 6,063 salmon from a total of 217 deliveries.

Report: 2019 Year-end Marketing Report - (Posted May 2020) Prepared by Rising Tide Communications. The Bristol Bay brand continues to draw praise and win awards for our high quality marketing materials and brand attributes. In 2019, a goal was set to link and integrate all programs to support our industry goals and saw increased attention, awareness, and partnerships based on those efforts. 

Report: Northern Economics 2019 Processor Survey - (Posted May 2020) Prepared by Northern Economics, Inc., the annual processor survey gathers prior season information from Bristol Bay processors. This survey captures raw product data, finished product forms, chilled product volumes and quality impact, ice production capacity, and respondents’ opinions of trends and priorities within the fishery.

2020 Photo Contest Winners - The Bristol Bay fleet provided a bounty of fantastic photos from the 2020 season. Thank you to everyone who submitted photos and shared snapshots of their Bristol Bay stories.

2019 Project Reports & Presentations

Pebble Mine Draft EIS Comments - BBRSDA opposes the proposed Pebble Mine because it threatens the fishery’s abundance and marketability. These aspects were not adequately analyzed in the Project’s Draft EIS, which contains numerous other problems. We have fully addressed these issues in public comments submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers via email and post. In short, the Pebble Draft EIS is thoroughly inadequate as a decision making tool and it does not represent a “hard look” at foreseeable impacts of the mine project. If this were a rigorous and objective process, this Draft EIS would not contain so many oversights, assumptions, unsupported conclusions, and inaccuracies. Selected public comments on the Pebble Draft EIS from BBRSDA are available below.

  • Public Comment from Law Firm on Behalf of BBRSDA: LINK

  • Executive Director Andy Wink’s Public Comment: LINK

  • Program Manager Cameo Padilla’s Public Comment: LINK

2018 Project Reports & Presentations

Report: Northern Economics 2018 Processor Survey - (Posted May 2019) Prepared by Northern Economics, Inc., the annual processor survey gathers prior season information from Bristol Bay processors. This survey captures raw product data, finished product forms, chilled product volumes and quality impact, ice production capacity, and respondents’ opinions of trends and priorities within the fishery.

Report: A Model Analysis of Flow and Deposition from a Tailings Dam Failure at the Proposed Pebble Mine - This report was prepared by a team of researchers from The Nature Conservancy and Lynker Technologies led by Dr. Cameron Wobus. The analysis examines the expected scale of a tailings dam failure at the proposed Pebble Mine, which would result in significant damage to salmon habitat in the greater Nushagak River system.

Presentation: Modeling the Impacts of a Tailings Dam Failure at the Pebble Mine - This presentation and analysis was prepared by a team of researchers from The Nature Conservancy and Lynker Technologies led by Dr. Cameron Wobus. This presentation was delivered to BBRSDA members at Town Hall Meetings in Anchorage and Homer in March 2019.

Fall 2018 Sockeye Market Report - Prepared by Executive Director Andy Wink.

Fall 2018 Sockeye Market Presentation - This presentation was delivered to BBRSDA members at the 2018 Fall Member Meeting at the Pacific Marine Expo on November 19, 2018.

BBRSDA Retail Marketing Program - This presentation was delivered to BBRSDA members by Christine Fanning with Rising Tide Communications at the 2018 Fall Member Meeting at the Pacific Marine Expo on November 19, 2018.

Economic Benefits of the Bristol Bay Salmon Industry: Full Report - BBRSDA would like to thank the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation (BBEDC) and the Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) for contributing matching funds to this project, which quantifies the economic benefits of the Bristol Bay salmon industry.

Economic Benefits of the Bristol Bay Salmon Industry: Summary Handout

Spring 2018 Sockeye Market Report - The full report prepared by Wink Research & Consulting.

Spring 2018 Sockeye Market Presentation - This was the presentation delivered to BBRSDA members by Andy Wink at the pre-season annual meeting in Naknek on June 9, 2018.

2017 Project Reports

2017 BBRSDA Processor Survey - Prepared by Northern Economics, Inc., the annual processor survey gathers prior season information from Bristol Bay processors.  The 2017 survey captured raw product data, finished product forms, chilled product volumes and quality impact, ice production capacity, and respondents’ opinions of trends and priorities within the fishery. 

Fall 2017 Sockeye Market Report - The full report prepared by The McDowell Group.

Fall 2017 Sockeye Market Presentation - This was the presentation delivered to BBRSDA members by Andy Wink, Senior Seafood Analyst at The McDowell Group, at the membership meeting in Seattle, WA on Nov. 16 2017.

UW Schindler Nushagak Project Report - Final report from a 2014 study that used strontium isotopes in otoliths to map sockeye salmon production patterns across the Nushagak River basin. 

2017 Port Moller Test Fishery Daily Updates - Prepared by the BBSRI and made possible in part by funding from BBRSDA through the BBFC, the Port Moller Test Fishery (PMTF) is conducted each year to help processors, fishermen, and fishery managers assess the timing, composition, and abundance of sockeye salmon returning to commercial fishing districts in Bristol Bay.

Spring 2017 Sockeye Market Report - The full report prepared by The McDowell Group.

Spring 2017 Sockeye Market Presentation - This was the presentation delivered to BBRSDA members by Andy Wink, Senior Seafood Analyst at The McDowell Group, at the pre-season annual meeting in Dillingham on June 10, 2017.

2016 Project Reports

Bristol Bay Sockeye 2016 Marketing Campaign: Pilot Project Final Report - Prepared by Rising Tide Communications.  The BBRSDA launched a new consumer-facing Bristol Bay brand in 2016 and tested that brand with a pilot project in Boulder, CO. The goal was to establish a proven model for implementing an effective retail program for refreshed Bristol Bay sockeye salmon.  

KDLG Final Report for 2016 Season - Prepared by Dave Bendinger of KDLG.  BBRSDA provided $20,000 in funding to KDLG in 2016 for expanded coverage of the fishery and other news broadcasting that benefits the fishermen of Bristol Bay as well as the region.

Cost/Benefit Analysis of Avoiding a 2016 Cost Recovery Fishery - Report prepared by The McDowell Group

Fall 2016 Sockeye Market Report - The full report prepared by The McDowell Group.

Fall 2016 Sockeye Market Presentation - A good summation of the full report.  This was the presentation delivered to BBRSDA members by Andy Wink, Senior Seafood Analyst at The McDowell Group, at Pacific Marine Expo on November 18, 2016.

Spring 2016 Sockeye Market Report - Report prepared by the McDowell Group.

2016 BBRSDA Town Hall Meetings Final Report - This report summarizes the outcomes of BBRSDA's first ever series of town hall meetings.  These meetings were member driven and focused, took place in 8 different communities chosen for number of permit holder residents, and delivered information about current projects the BBRSDA is implementing and gathered feedback from members through informal discussion and written survey.

2016 Port Moller Test Fishery Daily Updates - Prepared by the BBSRI and made possible in part by funding from BBRSDA, the Port Moller Test Fishery (PMTF) is conducted each year to help processors, fishermen, and fishery managers assess the timing, composition, and abundance of sockeye salmon returning to commercial fishing districts in Bristol Bay.

2016 Port Moller Test Fishery Final Report - Prepared by the BBSRI.  BBRSDA provided $40,000 in funding to BBSRI to support the PMTF in 2016.