By the beginning of next year, we will add two new larger freighters, essentially doubling the fleet’s capacity. The new larger freighters will also be certified to fly long hauls over open water, including from remote communities like King Salmon to Seattle.Īnd while most of the Bristol Bay catch is frozen and carried out by barge, Alaska’s cargo team is investing in more payload to feed the nation’s growing appetite for fresh salmon.

“I get a little awestruck by the numbers coming in at the peak of the season,” said Shannon Stevens, Alaska Air Cargo sales manager for the state of Alaska. About 600,000 pounds of the 60 million salmon caught were carried fresh out of the Bristol Bay community of King Salmon (AKN) on Alaska Air Cargo freighters, destined for restaurants and grocery stores - and ultimately, diners’ plates - across the country and around the world. Last year, a record 82 million sockeye returned to the bay. More than half the world’s sockeye salmon comes from Bristol Bay, where the state, scientists, fishing industry and Alaska Native tribes work together to sustainably manage the fishery. You’re on a 32-foot boat and all of a sudden you’re reeling in 900 to 1,200 feet of net and having to figure out how to get all the fish out of it.” “The three to seven days that are the peak, the fish are charging upstream, and you’re going from hundreds of pounds to thousands of pounds in your net.

“When you first start out, it’s chaotic and jarring – and absolutely addicting,” Ure said. Nels Ure was a little younger when he started working on a boat with his dad, who also began fishing the bay in the early ‘90s. ”From the get-go, it was my favorite time of the year.” Her dad ran the boat, and her mom showed them the ropes. “My sister and brother and I were the only deckhands, and we were so excited,” Temple said. Reba Temple and her mom, Lynn, fishing in Bristol Bay.

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