Unalaska, AK –
The sockeye salmon run into McLees Lake near Cape Wislow is off to a strong start according to preliminary escapement numbers release by Alaska Fish and Game.
As of Sunday, more than 8,100 fish were counted at the weir since biologists began monitoring Reese Bay a week ago.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Derek Hildreth who oversees the federal counting station says that's a good sign.
"This year the run seems to be coming in early," Hildreth said. "Usually it would be another week or so before we'd see something like this."
Minimum escapement is set by state Fish and Game is between 10,000 and 60,000 fish. There have been weak runs in the past in recent years that led to closures on the important subsistence fishery for the Unalaska community.
State Area Management Biologist Aaron Poetter in Sand Point says the system is open and now's a good opportunity for residents to fish.
"I would certainly encourage people to get out and get some subsistence fish," he said. "It always bodes well when you see a good front-end of the escapement."
The Wislow run can fluctuate. The recent record was set in 2003 with more than 100,000 fish though the next year saw less than half that. After 2005 the system hovered around 12,000 fish or less with 2008 and 2009 triggering closures due to weak runs. Then last year about 32,000 sockeye were recorded.
"Certainly it raises some eyebrows when you see some later on escapements that are pretty low," he said. "You got to figure there's probably some sort of damage been done. But it looks like they seem to be coming back from those big years."
Harvest information is collected by Fish and Game and won't be tabulated until the end of the season.