Alaska's largest sockeye salmon run exceeded expectations in numbers but featured the smallest fish on record, posing challenges for commercial harvest.

Sockeye salmon returning to Bristol Bay this year were, on average, the smallest the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has ever seen. So far, the average weight of Bristol Bay sockeye was 4.2 pounds this year. Fish and Game biologist Stacy Vega said that’s the smallest average weight on record.

Alaska's 2024 commercial salmon harvest was among the lowest since records began and offered the lowest inflation-adjusted value to harvesters since 1975.

Bristol Bay’s prolific salmon runs are also made possible because of the effective and transparent management of the Alaskan salmon fishery, according to both Hill and Schindler. Decisions are made in real time, on the ground — or, to be precise, overlooking the water — compared to the much more cumbersome and bureaucratic Canadian system.

The booming Bristol Bay salmon run has broken the record set just last year, while on the Yukon River, Chinook are too scarce to harvest.