Page 3 - Egegik River News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Smaller sockeye are part of a larger trend of shrinking salmon The sockeye returning to Bristol Bay this year are smaller. The average fish this summer weighs just 4.5 pounds down more than half a pound from 2020, according to data from the Mckinley Research Group. That has been a trend over the past four decades, as increasingly smaller fish have returned to the bay amid larger salmon runs and warming oceans. That’s according to Dan Schindler, a fisheries professor at the University of Washington who has researched Bristol Bay salmon for decades. “The size of fish has declined for their age. So the size of 2-ocean fish has been declining slowly over time, and the size of 3-ocean fish has been slowly declining over time,” he said.

Wood riverUnited statesSandie marieBrian venuaDan schindlerStephanie maltarichIzzy rossJessie peralegBryan reileyUniversity of washingtonBristol bay regional seafood development associationMckinley research groupBristol bayMckinley researchNorth pacificSkipper science