"Bristol Bay fishermen applaud the USDA's historic seafood purchase. This will provide struggling Americans with excellent food and support our country's seafood industry, which has faced huge challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Andy Wink, Executive Director for the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.

BBRSDA will hold our Annual Member Meeting on May 22, 2021 at 10:30am AKT via zoom/teleconference. BBRSDA will also hold our final pre-season Board meeting on May 22, 2021 at 9:30am AKT (prior to the Annual Member Meeting). Click “Read More” for details…

Three days of hands-on and lecture-based training for new deckhands with little or no previous experience covering deck skills, safety, net repair, knot tying and more. Reserve a space for your green crew!

Elizabeth has been a steadfast advocate working with the seafood supply chain to stop the Pebble Mine since 2006.

George Wilson Jr. wins Seat B and Michael Jackson wins Seat E.

Net Your Problem works to recycle fishing gear in Alaska. You can help by voting for Net Your Problem in a competitive grant from the Center for Behaviour and the Environment. Net Your Problem is one of 10 finalists for a $25,000 grant and you can vote HERE to show your support for this project.

In April, BBRSDA committed financial support to test the feasibility of doing the in-season genetic analysis for stock composition estimates from the Port Moller Test Fishery (PMTF) onboard one of the test boats.

Join BBNA for Regional COVID Broadcasts Tuesdays at 2pm Alaska Time (also recorded).

As of April 19, 2021, all 50 states allow vaccinations for everyone 16 and older.

During the 2021 fishing season, Quality Control technicians working on 15 tenders across Bristol Bay will measure the quality of salmon at the point of delivery using the noninvasive ‘Certified Quality Reader,’ a device that uses electrical currents to measure cell degradation of the salmon.

The BBRSDA Board of Directors will have a teleconference board meeting on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 9am AKT.

Click HERE to view or download BBRSDA’s 2020 Annual Report. This inaugural annual report summarizes what BBRSDA did in 2020, who we are, our approach to meeting the mission, financial data, market analysis, and more.

There are two open Board seats in this year’s election. A total of four members have been nominated and qualified as Board Seat Candidates. The ballots are in the mail to all BBRSDA members. The postmark deadline to return your vote is April 29th.

Members and the public are welcome to attend the annual Spring Industry Meeting video conference and hear from BBRSDA, Northern Economics, ADF&G, Bristol Bay Fisheries Collaborative & Port Moller Test Fishery.

The team-member spotlight this month is Frances Bursch. Frances is a life-long Bristol Bay fisherman and joined BBRSDA at the end of the 2020 season.

On April 2nd changes from Dillingham’s updated Emergency Order will go into effect. The switch from EO 1.1 to EO 2.0 changes numerous things while retaining important Covid safeguards.

CDC and Coast Guard FAQs confirm that vessel crewmembers are not required to wear a mask under the following circumstances:

• If they are alone in a room, work area, or private cabin;

• If they are eating or drinking; and

• If they are performing a task for which mask-wearing would create a risk to workplace health, safety, or job duty.

BBRSDA is very excited to have a virtual booth at this year’s ComFish Alaska event (MARCH 30-31). Don’t wait, click “Read More” and register NOW!

As the EPA has recognized, Bristol Bay is one of the nation’s great natural resources, and BBRSDA is writing to encourage the EPA to exercise its authority under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to help protect and preserve it for future generations. The need for EPA leadership to protect Bristol Bay from the ongoing existential threat posed by hard-rock mining in the watershed remains urgent.

New economic analysis of Bristol Bay’s famed salmon runs show that the fishery’s economic benefits exceeded $2.2 billion in 2019, generating more than 15,000 jobs while feeding hundreds of thousands of people. The commercial fishery supplies as much as 57% of the world’s sockeye salmon catch, driving $990 million in economic activity in Alaska alone, and $800 million in induced impacts for the Pacific Northwest.