Bristol Bay Lodge - Conservation Benchmarks

 Bristol Bay Lodge
Conservation & Stewardship
Bristol Bay Lodge A Commitment to Conservation
At Bristol Bay Lodge our priorities are: safety, conserving natural resources, and catching
fish.
1. Safety. You are fishing in a wilderness setting. Common sense and following your
guide’s direction are your best safety measures. The guides are exceptionally familiar
with the water you are fishing and the potential hazards. Please follow their directions
and advice.
2. Conservation. We want you to enjoy the entire fishing experience and, of course, to
land big fish. This goal is 100 percent consistent with good natural resource
conservation.
9 Bristol Bay Lodge fishes on public lands within the Togiak National Wildlife
Refuge, Wood-Tikchik State Park, and on Native Corporation lands under special
use permits. This is a privilege not a right. Our conduct on and off the water is
intended to minimize our impact to the natural resource and to other anglers.
9 The bigger the fish, the more important its safe release. Big salmon and trout are
often female—the bigger the fish the more eggs she can contribute to the next
year class. Genetically, large fish have the proven ability to adapt well to their
environment. We will work hard to get a good picture of your trophy fish, then
ensure its safe release. We will not intentionally kill trophy fish.
9 Each guest is encouraged to enjoy fresh fish as a shore lunch and to take fish
home. The guides will select appropriate fish for their flavor and size but will let
the big ones go.
9 Brown bears are common. Do not approach them or feed them. If you see a bear,
notify the guide and follow his instructions. If enjoying a shore lunch or snack,
ensure all food is cleaned up. Wildlife managers consider a fed bear a dead
bear—bears that become habituated to humans and human foods lose their fear of
humans. Close approaches represent a real danger to humans, and a habituated
bear typically ends up dead as a result.
3. Catching Fish. You are fishing one of the world’s most incredible fisheries—Bristol
Bay. Catch and release is a valuable conservation tool, and our guides are trained to
minimize impact to released fish. A few examples: use barbless hooks where possible;
shorter fight times increase survival (a fish played to exhaustion is more vulnerable); if a
captive fish loses equilibrium (can’t hold itself upright) after you land it, revive it by
holding the fish gently in the water, facing into current, until it can swim away upright;
and lastly when you want a photo with the fish, keep fish in the water (preferably in a
net) while you prepare camera and positioning (e.g., remove hats and sunglasses, use
flash for face shadows, etc.). Once you are ready, wet hands and gently support the fish
from beneath the head and belly. Limit air exposure to less than 15 seconds… and smile!
Bristol Bay Lodge & Environs One of Alaska’s premier world-class wilderness fishing lodges, Bristol Bay Lodge sits on a wooded rise
presiding over a quiet scenic bay on Lake Aleknagik amid the surrounding mountains of Wood-Tikchik
State Park, America’s largest state park. Located 40 air miles northwest of the small, remote town of
Dillingham and 300 miles west of the nearest interstate road system, Bristol Bay Lodge is utterly
surrounded by wilderness.
John and Maggie Garry came from the lower 48 in 1967 to guide and manage Tikchik Narrows Lodge. A
few years later, they learned that George Chamrad was selling his five acre parcel at the northwest end of
Lake Aleknagik. The property was one of only seven legally deeded pieces of land available in the Wood
River-Tikchik area at the time. Mr. Chamrad sold the property to John and Maggie in 1972 who
immediately began construction on Bristol Bay Lodge’s first cabin, Nerka. Shortly thereafter, Maggie
married Ron McMillan, and in 1976 they began full-time operation of Bristol Bay Lodge. Maggie and
Ron operated the lodge for the next 30 years, building a reputation for fine fishing and lodging that
continues to this day. Over time, the lodge and three additional cabins (Rainbow, Chinook, and Coho)
were built. In 2003, Ron and Maggie sold the lodge to Shackleton International Ltd who sold it in turn to
Everlands/Lifestyle Development in 2007. Manager Steve Laurent began his career at Bristol Bay Lodge
as a fishing guide in 1990, going on to become the operations manager and then the general manager.
Steve has been general manager of Bristol Bay Lodge since 2003.
The origin of the remote camps can be traced back to 1978 when two legendary sportfishing figures,
Lefty Kreh and Mark Sosin, were staying at Bristol Bay Lodge. John Garry obtained a permit for them to
visit the walrus sanctuary at Round Island, in Togiak Bay. In route, the group spotted a large number of
salmon at the mouth of the Ungalikthluk River. Returning from Round Island, they fished the river and
hooked good numbers of salmon and large rainbow trout. John Garry and long-time BBL guide Pat
McDonough returned to the river for further exploration and found many large willing rainbow trout.
Wishing to keep the name and location of the river quiet, they called the main river “Rainbo” (sic) and the
right fork “Wrong Turn Creek.” 1 The next season, Bristol Bay Lodge established a remote camp at
Rainbo and the following year began operating a remote camp at Birch Creek. These camps have been in
operation ever since.
The landscape surrounding Bristol Bay Lodge is characterized by large, interconnected, clear water lakes
surrounded by mountain peaks, high alpine valleys, and fjord-like lakes. Bristol Bay Lodge lies in a
transition zone between coniferous forest and tundra. Forests of white spruce and mixed spruce-birch
forest surround the property as well as muskeg, willow-alder thickets, and marshlands. Mountains rising
above 900-foot elevation feature heath tundra, alpine meadows and bare rock. The lodge is situated amid
the Wood-Tikchik lake region that extends to the north, the Nushagak lowland tundra to the east, Wood
River Mountains to the west, and the influence of Bristol Bay to the south.
There’s a land where the mountains are nameless and the rivers all run God know where. There are lives that are
erring and aimless, and deaths that just hang by a hair. There are hardships that nobody reckons, there are valleys
unpeopled and still, there’s a land, oh it beckons and beckons, and I want to go back… and I will.
Robert Service “Spell of the Yukon”
The climate at Bristol Bay Lodge reflects the humid, maritime influence of Bristol Bay to its south and
the dryer influence of the northern interior. The weather is generally cool and moist with daily July
temperatures averaging a high of 65°F and low of 46°F. Total precipitation averages 25 inches annually
at Dillingham, with snowfall averages of 60-70 inches.
The present day landscape was formed in the final glacial retreat of the Pleistocene era some 12,000 years
ago. As water replaced the ice of the vast glaciers, salmon moved into nearly every body of water flowing
seaward from the Alaskan mountains. Early humans following these fish found this new region more
hospitable than the harsh frozen landscape of their Beringia and Asian homelands. Their descendents, the
Yup'ik Eskimos, occupied the region at the time of contact with Western explorers.
Bristol Bay lies at the southern extent of Eskimo culture that extends from the Russian Far East across the
top of North America to Greenland. History of the Yup'ik (translated as "real" or "genuine" person) in the
region extends back about 3,500 years. Today many native people in the Bristol Bay region still depend
upon a subsistence livelihood, fishing for salmon, hunting walrus, seal and beluga along the coast, and
caribou and moose in the interior.
Russians first arrived in the region in the early 1800s. With the United States’ purchase of Alaska in
1867, salmon increasingly became the focus of commerce. In 1884, the first cannery was built at the
mouth of the Nushagak near present-day Dillingham. By the early 1900s, fishermen sailed two-man drift
gillnetters in grueling and dangerous conditions to net countless millions of salmon. In turn, canneries
became all-powerful conglomerates whose influence in Alaska was a prime impetus for statehood in
1959. 2
Today, the Bristol Bay Watershed produces the world’s greatest commercial salmon fishery and its waters
are internationally renowned for their salmon and trout that attract anglers from all over the world.
1
Heaven on Earth, a candid, first-hand account of the founding of Rainbow River, a legendary camp in its own
right, Pat McDonough, 16 pages (unpublished).
2
Partial source of historical materials from Nushagak-Mulchatna Wood-Tikchik Land Trust at
www nmwtlandtrust.org.
Bristol Bay Lodge Regional Overview Bristol Bay Lodge Lodge, Wok, and Pac Areas Bristol Bay Lodge
A Sampling of Bristol Bay Wildflowers Cranesbill (Geranium erianthum)
Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium acutiflorum)
Bluebells (Mertensia paniculata)
“Arctic” Lupine (Lupinus sp.)
Prickly Rose (Rosa acicularis)
River Beauty (Epilobium latifolium)
Produced by Whitney Tilt, Everlands Conservation Initiative
Bristol Bay Lodge
A Sampling of Bristol Bay Wildflowers Nagoonberry (Rubus arcticus)
Lousewort (Pedicularis sp.)
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
Twisted Stalk (Streptopus amplexifolius)
Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum)
Alaska Spiraea (Spiraea Beauverdiana)
Produced by Whitney Tilt, Everlands Conservation Initiative
Bristol Bay Lodge
A Sampling of Bristol Bay Wildflowers Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
Greene Mountain Ash (Sorbus scopulina)
Bell Heather (Cassiope tetragona)
Willow catkin (Salix sp.)
Alder buds (Alnus sp.)
Wood Fern (Dryopteris dilatata)
Produced by Whitney Tilt, Everlands Conservation Initiative
Bristol Bay Lodge Page 1 of 2 Trees and Shrubs of Bristol Bay & Environs* Alpine Tundra (AT) Bogs (B) Clearings (CL) Moist Tundra (MT) Open, low‐growing Spruce Forests (OS) Closed Spruce‐Hardwoods Forests (SH) Alder, Willow Floodplain Thickets (TH) Wet Tundra (WT) Barren rock, low heath shrubs, prostrate willows, and dwarf herbs Treeless depressions with thick sphagnum moss mat, sedges, rushes, low shrubs and fruticose lichens Clearings in forests and thickets, often caused by fire, development, avalanche, etc.
Tundra meadows dominated by sedges, scattered willows and dwarf birch Low growing, open forests consisting of black spruce interspersed with paper birch, willows and treeless bogs Tall to moderately tall closed forest of white and black spruce, paper birch, aspen and balsam poplar Dense thickets of shrubs dominated by alder, willow found along streams and
rivers, beach and lake fronts Coastal tundra and marsh dominated by sedges and grasses Common Name Scientific Name
Pine Family (Pinaceae) Black Spruce Picea mariana
White Spruce Picea glauca
Cypress Family (Cupressaceae) Common juniper Juniperus communis
Willow Family (Salicaceae) Balsam popular Populus balsamifera
Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides
Felt leaf willow Salix alaxensis
Little‐tree willow Salix arbusculoides
Arctic willow Salix arctica
Barclay willow Salix barclayi
Bebb willow Salix bebbiana
Under‐green willow Salix commutata
Alaska bog willow Salix fuscescens
Gray‐leaf willow Salix glauca
Halberd willow Salix hastata
Barren‐ground willow Salix niphoclada
Arctic seashore willow
Salix ovalifolia
Skeleton‐leaf willow Salix phlebophylla
Diamond‐leaf willow Salix pulchra
Net‐leaf willow Salix reticulata
Richardson willow Salix richardsonii
Least willow Salix rotundifolia
Scouler willow Salix scouleriana
Creeping willow Salix stolonifera
Bayberry Family (Myricaceae) Sweetgale Myrica gale
Birch Family (Betulaceae) Dwarf Arctic birch Betula nana
Resin birch Betula glandulosa
Alaska paper birch Betula neoalaskana
Kenai birch Betula kenaica
Siberian alder Alnus fruticosa
Sitka alder Alnus sinuata
Habitats
OS
OS‐SH
B
SH‐TH
CL‐TH
SH‐TH
OS‐SH‐TH
AT‐MT
B‐MT‐TH
OS‐SH‐TH
B‐MT‐TH
AT‐B‐MT‐TH‐WT MT‐OS‐TH
TH
TH
AT‐MT‐WT
AT
AT‐MT‐OS‐TH‐WT AT‐B‐MT‐WT MT‐TH‐WT
AT‐MT
CL‐OS‐TH
AT‐WT
B‐TH
AT‐B‐MT‐TH‐WT AT‐B‐MT‐TH‐WT OS‐SH
OS‐SH
MT‐TH
CL‐TH
Bristol Bay Lodge Page 2 of 2 Thin‐leaf alder Alnus tenuifolia
Gooseberry Family (Grossulariaceae)
Northern black currant Ribes hudsonianum
Skunk currant Ribes glandulosum
Trailing black currant Ribes laxiflorum
American red currant Riber triste
Rose Family (Rosaceae) Steven spirea Spiraea stevenii
Luetkea Luetkea pectinata
Greene Mountain Ash Sorbus scopulina
American red raspberry Rubus idaeus
Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis
Bush cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa
White mountain avens
Dryas octopetala
Entire‐leaf mountain avens Dryas integrifolia
Prickly rose Rosa acicularis
Nootka rose Rosa nutkana
Crowberry Family (Empetraceae)
Crowberry Empetrum nigrum
Heather Family (Ericaceae) Narrow‐leaf Labrador tea Ledum decumbens
Labrador tea Ledum groenlandicum
Kamchatka rosebay Therorhodion camtschaticum
Alpine azalea Loiseleuria procumbens
Blue mountain heather Phyllodoce caerulea
Aleutian mountain heather Phyllodoce aleutica
Alaska cassiope Cassiope lycopodioides
Starry cassiope Harrimanella stelleriana
Bog rosemary Andromeda polifolia
Leatherleaf Chamaedaphne calyculata
Kinnikinnik Arctostaphylos uva­ursi
Alpine bearberry Arctous alpina
Red‐fruit bearberry Arctous rubra
Mountain cranberry Vaccinium vitis­idaea
Early blueberry Vaccinium ovalifolium
Bog blueberry Vaccinium uliginosum
Bog cranberry Oxycoccus microcarpus
Diapensia Family (Diapensiaceae)
Diapensia Diapensia lapponica
Honeysuckle Family (Caprifoliceae)
Pacific red elder Sambucus racemosa
High‐bush cranberry Viburum edule
Twinflower Linnaea borealis
TH
SH
CL
CL‐TH
SH‐TH
MT‐TH
AT
CL
TH
TH
SH‐TH
AT‐MT
AT‐MT
OS‐SH‐TH
TH
AT‐B‐OS‐SH‐TH AT‐B‐MT‐SH‐WT B‐OS
AT‐MT
AT‐MT
AT
AT‐MT
AT
AT
B‐WT
B
SH
AT‐MT‐TH
OS‐SH
AT‐B‐MT‐OS –SH‐TH‐WT TH
AT‐B‐MT‐OS‐SH‐TH‐WT B‐MT‐WT
AT
CL
SH‐TH
OS
* List is based on Alaska Trees and Shrubs, Leslie Viereck and Elbert Little, Snowy Owl Books, University of Alaska Press (2007). Bristol Bay Lodge Salmon and Trout Anatomy
Salmonid fishes have an elongated, streamlined shape.
There are three fins—caudal (tail), anal, and dorsal fin
that provide thrust through the water. Two sets of paired
fins—pelvic and pectoral—provide stabilization. A
small, fleshy fin called an adipose fin is found directly
behind the dorsal fin. The caudal fin can be deeply
"forked" as in the lake trout or "square" as in the brook
trout.
Salmonid scales are thin and translucent and are
categorized as "cycloid," forming concentric rings that
may be useful in determination of age, similar to rings of
a tree. An experienced scientist can also detect life history characteristics of individual fish, such as
number of years in the ocean, spawning times, and other information from subtle markings and spacing
features of the rings.
The skeletal system of trout and salmon consists of the skull, backbone, a set of bones called the
appendicular skeleton, and the ribs and intermuscular bones. Toward the back of the skull are the gills.
Gill filaments are covered by a thin membrane where oxygen is absorbed and carbon dioxide passes back
into the water. The gill filaments are attached to bones called the gill arches, which have bony
projections called gill rakers. The gill rakers strain food and particles from the water. The gill rakers can
give clues as to the type of feeding strategies used by the fish. Generally fish that feed by straining
plankton from the water will have a higher number of gill rakers
(e.g., kokanee salmon which feed on zooplankton have a total of
35-40) while fish that prey on larger insects and fish will have
fewer (rainbow trout, generalists in their feeding, have 15-20).
Salmonids exhibit anatomical features that optimize life in
water. The greater density of water as compared to air affects
movement and the transmission of sound and light. Chemicals,
such as oxygen, are influenced by the density of water. The air that humans breathe at sea level has about
200,000 parts per million of oxygen, compared to water at the same elevation, which has at most only 12
parts per million. Sound travels five times faster in water, but light travels more slowly.
Trout and salmon have a heart, kidney, liver, spleen,
stomach, short simple intestine, small urinary
bladder, and testes or ovaries. An organ unique to
fishes is the air bladder—a membranous sac that
extends the entire length of the body cavity. Filled
with gas, it provides buoyancy and stability in the
water column. Numerous finger-like projections,
called pyloric caeca, are found on the intestine just
behind the stomach. These sacs increase the surface
area for better absorption and secrete enzymes that assist in digestion. The number of pyloric caeca are
commonly used as a taxonomic characteristic.
Everlands Conservation Initiative
Salmonid Anatomy- 1
Bristol Bay Lodge Salmonids are equipped with a sophisticated group of sensory organs that enable them to navigate their
aquatic world. Located between the tip of the snout and the eye on each side of the head are two small
openings called the nares (analogous to nostrils). These permit water to pass over the nasal sacs that
contain sophisticated chemoreceptor cells. Fish do not "breathe" through their nares; there is no
connection to the throat.
The sense of smell is known to be one of the principle mechanisms that enable homing salmon to
accurately locate their natal stream. Salmon imprint the exact chemical fingerprint of their natal stream
allowing them to return to the precise location where they emerged as fry. In the ocean, magnetic
orientation is believed to play a major role in movements and migrations. The presence of magnetite
crystals in the nares is thought to contribute to the ability of salmonids to navigate the vast open sea.
Hearing occurs in the inner ear. Due to the nature of the movement of sound in water, fishes have no need
for an external ear and lack the middle ear found in many terrestrial vertebrates. Because the density of
water is similar to the body density of salmonids, sound passes easily to the inner ear. Inside the inner ear
are tiny bones called otoliths which grow continuously throughout the life of the fish and are used by
scientists to give accurate estimates of age and other information about individual fish.
A lateral line extending along the middle of both sides of the body and well developed on the head detects
movement, slight pressure changes, and chemicals in the surrounding water. Fish are able to detect
movement and sounds around them without the use of their eyes and ears.
The eye of a salmonid is enhanced to detect motion and to focus in water. Salmonids can see in cloudy or
turbid water that is sometimes nearly opaque. Trout and salmon have very accurate vision over a rather
wide range and even possess the ability to focus on objects that are very close, while clearly seeing distant
objects at the same time. Trout and salmon see colors. The cones located in the retina are sensitive to
wavelengths associated with ultraviolet, blue, green, and red light. The location of the eye on the side of
the head gives salmonids a great range of vision. In the horizontal field, trout are able to see objects
directly in front of them with both eyes (binocular vision), as well as anything on either side (monocular
vision). Only objects directly behind the fish are out of the field of view. Anything that is observed above
the water surface, such as a flying insect or predatory bird, is subject to the bending of light waves in
water, causing everything but those objects directly overhead to appear slightly closer than their actual
location and distorted from their true position. Salmonids have obviously evolved a means of
compensating for this phenomenon—they are very adept at leaping out of the water to catch flying insects
and at spotting potential predators.
The salmonid brain is comparatively simple yet capable of very sophisticated tasks and complex
behaviors. While the brain lacks a cerebrum or neocortex (responsible for higher thought), salmonids are
certainly capable of learning. They are able to "remember" where they spawned and their selectivity of
feeding on a specific prey denotes that at least some temporary learning. Predator avoidance in some
situations appears to be learned rather than an instinctual response. In catch-and-release fisheries, trout
become more difficult to catch after each time they are landed. Trout "learn" from being caught.
Summary adapted from Robert J. Behnke, Trout and Salmon of North America, Free Press (2002): 7-10.
Illustrations by Joseph Tomelleri. For more information, please see copies of Robert Behnke’s book in
the Bristol Bay Lodge library. This summary developed for educational purposes. It is based on
copyrighted materials and is not to be sold or distributed beyond Bristol Bay Lodge.
Everlands Conservation Initiative
Salmonid Anatomy- 2
Bristol Bay Lodge Dolly Varden is a fish of much confusion, similar to the Arctic char. The species’ many names reflects
the considerable historical complexity of the search for the true identities of the three distinct species we
now call Dolly Varden, bull trout, and Arctic char. All three share characteristics in some areas and at
some stage of their life history that can make them nearly indistinguishable. Adding to the confusion,
fishing media commonly confuse the three and there is much to be learned about the species.
Its common name has its origins in the 1841 novel Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens where a young
woman named Dolly Varden favors brightly colored dresses. Subsequently, this character inspired
popular patterns of colorful cloth that were milled for dressmaking and called Dolly Varden. The name
has persisted and is appropriate for this beautifully colored and often misidentified fish.
DESCRIPTION & BIOLOGY. Dolly Varden found in Bristol Bay are the northern subspecies
occurring from the Alaska Peninsula northward in North America. In Bristol Bay, where Dolly Varden
overlap with Arctic char, char can be identified by their higher numbers of gill rakers (about 23-25,
compared with 20-23 in Dollies), higher number of pyloric caeca (about 40-50 compared with 25-30 in
Dollies), and by their larger, sparser spots (see Arctic Char description). In marine waters, however, the
silvery coloration of the Arctic char can mask or distort the spotting pattern. Like char, Dolly Varden can
develop brilliant, gaudy colors that can vary greatly depending on the individual's age, sex, and
environment. The body, covered with a profusion of small red spots, has a background coloration that can
range from emerald green to grayish blue. The ventral region, particularly in large males, can be crimson.
Everlands Conservation Initiative
Dolly Varden - 1
Bristol Bay Lodge The lower fins typically are red or orange, with a white anterior border. In Dolly Varden that live in
marine waters the colors on the body, and spots are obscured by the silvery coloration.
Bristol Bay Dollies are found as anadromous and stream-resident populations. Arctic char, by contrast,
occur almost exclusively as resident lake populations so the two species rarely come into contact with
each other (at least in theory). Dolly Varden typically spawn in streams in September and October, and
young hatch the following spring. A stream-resident population, especially if isolated in a headwater
above a waterfall, can live out its entire life of 7-8 years while moving upstream or downstream no more
than a few hundred yards.
Anadromous populations spawn in alternate years. Individuals in anadromous populations generally live
in rivers for their first 3-4 years and, in late spring or early summer, migrate to sea for the first time in
their fourth or fifth year. Dolly Varden return to their home river drainage to spawn. In non-spawning
years, they typically overwinter in lakes outside their home watershed or utilize sections of rivers
influenced by springs or groundwater as a refuge until the next year's ocean migration. The largest Dolly
Varden can reach sizes in the 15-to 20-pound (6.8-9.1 kg) range. The angler-caught record Dolly Varden,
caught in 1998, is 19 pounds, 4 ounces (8.7 kg).
In marine waters, Dolly Varden forage opportunistically on large crustaceans and a variety of small
fishes. In fresh water, Dolly Varden feed on invertebrates, mainly insects, and snails. Dolly Varden are
more benthic, or bottom-oriented, in their feeding compared to rainbow trout. In streams with spawning
runs of salmon, Dolly Varden will feed on salmon eggs that become available when successive waves of
spawning salmon disturb previous redds. Dolly Varden also feed on bits of flesh from disintegrating
salmon carcasses and occasionally prey on salmon fry, although they are not considered a serious
predator.
Great confusion has attended biologists' attempts to distinguish between the bull trout, the Arctic char,
and the Dolly Varden. In salmon rivers, the true Dolly Varden is more a scavenger than a predator. From
1921 to 1939 officials in Alaska paid a 2-5 cent bounty for tails of Dolly Varden in the belief that
hundreds of young salmon would be saved. Today we know that Dolly Varden are not highly predatory
and that, in fact, bull trout do not occur in Alaskan salmon rivers. In 1939, 20,000 bounty-paid tails were
critically examined: 71 percent came from coho salmon, 19 percent from rainbow trout, and only 10
percent from Dolly Varden. The bounty, which resulted in more than 6 million tails being turned in for
payment, was ended.
CONSERVATION. During the past 30 years or so, the public perception and agency attitudes
concerning Dolly Varden have undergone a transformation from despised predator to beautiful fish that is
an integral part of its ecosystem. In Alaska, the Dolly Varden is now managed as a popular sport fish,
and anadromous Dolly Varden are important in the subsistence fisheries of many Inuit villages of Alaska
and Canada. Dolly Varden are highly susceptible to angler catch and overexploitation. Dolly Varden are
temperature-sensitive, preferring temperatures lower than 55ºF and avoiding waters where temperatures
reach 60ºF or higher. They require streams with low sediment loads for successful spawning. Logging,
road construction, and urbanization can eliminate or greatly reduce the abundance of Dolly Varden.
Summary adapted from Robert J. Behnke, Trout and Salmon of North America, Free Press (2002): 315322. Please see copies of Robert Behnke’s book in the Bristol Bay Lodge library. This summary
developed for educational purposes. It is based on copyrighted materials and is not to be sold or
distributed beyond Bristol Bay Lodge
Everlands Conservation Initiative
Dolly Varden - 2
Bristol Bay Lodge The sockeye is the most important commercial salmon species in Bristol Bay and North America overall.
Highly prized for its delicious red flesh, it is canned and sold throughout the world typically as "red"
salmon. Even though they do not feed when they return to freshwater for spawning, at the right place and
time, they become aggressive and can be readily caught by anglers. Sockeye are an important fish for
Alaska Native commercial and subsistence fisheries. The species' common name is an anglicized version
of various Native American words for the sockeye, spelled phonetically as "sukkai.”
DESCRIPTION & BIOLOGY. In the ocean, sockeye salmon have bright, silvery sides and a steely
blue dorsal surface. The head is conical, and the snout is blunt. Smallish, well-developed teeth line both
the upper and lower jaws. The caudal fin is moderately forked and dark, with no spots. As sockeye enter
fresh water on their spawning runs, dramatic changes occur. The body becomes bright red, sometimes
with a dark green dorsal surface. The head of the male undergoes profound changes: the jaws and teeth
enlarge, and the jaws curve into a hook-like shape (kype). The male's body deepens behind the head, so
that the sockeye male presents a humpback profile like that of a pink salmon. Females lack the
pronounced hump and kype but exhibit the same brilliant coloration.
Sockeye salmon are relatively small. After 2-3 years of ocean feeding, sockeye returning to spawn
typically range from 21 to 26 inches (53-66 cm) and from about 4 to 7 pounds (1.8-3.2 kg). Extreme size
is about 33 inches (84 cm) and 15 pounds, 8 ounces (7 kg).
Everlands Conservation Initiative
Sockeye salmon - 1
Bristol Bay Lodge Sockeye salmon exhibit the greatest diversity of life history types of all Pacific salmon species. Different
populations are distinguished by the amounts of time (up to three years) spent in freshwater before
smolting and migrating to the ocean, and timing of spawning runs (July-October). Some populations
spawn within 2-3 weeks after leaving the ocean, some within 2-3 months. Commonly, two or more
populations of sockeye occur together in the same lake; such populations also occur together with
kokanee. 1 Hybridization is avoided because the populations spawn at different times and/or at different
spawning grounds. Sockeye typically spawn in streams that are tributaries to lakes, but upwelling areas
along lake beaches are also utilized. The female selects the spawning site, digs a nest (redd) with her tail,
and deposits eggs as one or more males swim beside her and fertilize the eggs as they are extruded. The
female deposits about five batches of eggs in a redd, covering them with gravel using her tail, Depending
upon her size, a female produces from 2,000 to 4,500 eggs. Fertilized in the fall, the eggs incubate over
the winter, and the young emerge in late winter or early spring, depending on the water temperature. All
adults die within a few weeks after spawning
During and after spawning, sockeye become an important food source for bears, other mammals, and
birds throughout their range. The millions of dead fish that remain in rivers after spawning add to the
nutrient base of the water system. This affects the nitrogen levels, which in turn aid the growth of algae, a
source of food for zooplankton.
Young sockeye feed in lakes mainly on crustacean zooplankton, especially "water fleas" of the genus
Daphnia. When Daphnia and other zooplankton are sparse, sockeye supplement their diet by feeding on
insect larvae and pupae in the water column. After 1-2 (rarely three) years spent growing in a lake,
sockeye juveniles undergo the smolting process in preparation for life in the ocean. After 2-3 years of
ocean feeding, mature sockeye reenter their home river, travel on to their home lake, and return to the
precise spawning tributary or lake-bottom spawning grounds where they were born.
FISHERY & CONSERVATION. The largest harvest of sockeye salmon in the world occurs in the
Bristol Bay area where 10-30 million sockeye may be caught each year during a short, intensive fishery.
In 2008, a total of 27.75 million fish were harvested in Bristol Bay with a value exceeding $110 million.
Most sockeye salmon are harvested with gillnets either drifted from a vessel or set with one end on the
shore. Sockeye salmon are the preferred species for canning due to the rich orange-red color of their
flesh. Today, however, more than half of the sockeye salmon catch is sold frozen rather than canned.
Sockeye salmon roe is also valuable where it is marketed in Japan. The greatest subsistence harvest of
sockeye salmon probably occurs in the Bristol Bay area where participants use set gillnets. Most of the
subsistence harvest consists of prespawning sockeye salmon, but a relatively small number of
postspawning sockeye salmon are also taken. Personal use fisheries have also been established to make
use of any sockeye salmon surplus to spawning needs, subsistence uses, and commercial and sport
harvests.
Summary adapted from Robert J. Behnke, Trout and Salmon of North America, Free Press (2002), pages
59-64; and Alaska Fish and Game Department, Wildlife Notebook at http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/
pubs/notebook/fish/. Illustrations by Joseph Tomelleri,in Behnke (2002). This summary developed for
educational purposes. It is based on copyrighted materials and is not to be sold or distributed beyond
Bristol Bay Lodge.
1
Kokanee is the lake-resident form of sockeye salmon—an extremely popular game fish and stocked in great
numbers in deep, cold lakes in western North America. Everlands Conservation Initiative
Sockeye salmon - 2