Lila Loves Bristol Bay, Alaska

The Bristol Bay watershed, 50,000 square miles bounded on the west by the Bering Sea and on the north, east, and south by the Ahklun and Kuskokwim Mountains and the Alaska and Aleutian Ranges, is a wild, tough, and biologically and geologically rich country that has sustained human life for the past 9,000 years with its plethora of renewable resources (Branson, 1).  The pristine fresh waters of Bristol Bay’s rivers and lakes support five species of Pacific salmon, with sockeye or red salmon being the most plentiful species (“Bristol Bay and the Sailboat Fishery”).  Salmon has been the backbone of nearly all life in the Bristol Bay region for hundreds of years.  They supply large mammals, including humans and bears, with energy and stamina.  Their decaying bodies fertilize the aquatic plants that nourish other fish, insects, ducks, and geese and the trees and shrubs that feed moose and beaver.  Since 1867, when commercial gillnetting began aboard sailboats in Nushagak Bay, salmon has provided the livelihood and income of hundreds and hundreds of people and families in the fishing, canning, and marketing industries (“Bristol Bay and the Sailboat Fishery”). 

            My family is one of those supported by the yearly Sockeye run of Bristol Bay. Naknek/King Salmon, Dillingham, Egegik, and Ugashik, Alaska, are important places to me because, of course, of the monetary support they provide my family, but much more importantly, because Bristol Bay is a place where we come together each year to share the adventure of a new fishing season.  Over the years, we have acquired a diverse and eccentric group of fisher friends, and I greatly look forward to our reunion each June.

Bristol Bay Links

Map of Bristol Bay

If you'd like to learn more about early conservation efforts, read this paper I wrote last spring.
Salmon Conservation Efforts in Bristol Bay, by Lila Little


Archival photos of the early Bristol Bay salmon fishery
There are many more available in Branson's book, cited below.

My mom sells our salmon in Oregon, bringing the family business full circle.
Fish Queen

Work Cited

Branson, John B. The Canneries, Cabins and Caches of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve: United States Department of the Interior, 2007. Print.

“Bristol Bay and the Sailboat Fishery.” Alaska’s Past – Regional Perspectives. Southwest Alaska

,  2004. Web. 10 October 2010.