Bristol Bay

The 40th annual Bristol Bay Fishtival celebration in Naknek brought together fisherfolk, residents and visitors for a weekend of food, music, arts and many other traditions.

Dozens of gillnetting boats powered by motors leave Homer Harbor every year to fish for salmon in the waters of Bristol Bay.This summer, a unique boat joined them: an 80-year-old restored wooden sailboat.

Bristol Bay's Nushagak District broke its record for the largest single-day harvest. Fisherfolk caught 2.46 million salmon on Thursday. That’s about 600,000 fish over last year’s record daily harvest, which was set last year. The district had back-to-back record harvests exactly one year ago, when fleets caught 1.7 million on June 30 and 1.82 million on July 1.

This past weekend, a crew assembled to raise the sail on a traditionally restored Bristol Bay double-ender.The boat was part of the Fourth of July parade…