Alaska and Idaho Salmon: Pride of Bristol Bay and Idaho Rivers United
Designed by the rivers and oceans that they inhabit, Bristol Bay sockeye salmon are a wonderful source of clean, wild protein and have sustained native cultures for 10,000 plus years. The fishermen of Bristol Bay takes great pride in sustainability harvesting, careful processing and timed delivery of these wild salmon from their boats to your table. This particular area of fishing is one of the world’s largest salmon fish habitats.
Bristol Bay is truly the last frontier for wild salmon - due to the remoteness of Bristol Bay the pristine eco-system has been left untouched. The state of Alaska has carefully managed the commercial harvest through the escapement numbers, these are salmon that are needed to make the journey up the rivers to spawn. All of the fish in this area are native, wild, anadromous fish with no hatchery fish being released into the system. Bristol Bay watershed has been managed for sustainability since the early days of the fishery and the health of the run is proof that this conservation minded management strategy works.
“The watershed supports the largest sockeye salmon run in the world, producing about 46% of the world’s wild sockeye harvest. It generates $1.5 billion a year and provides nearly 20,000 jobs throughout the United States annually” (WWF,2019). This year the run is expected to return somewhere in the neighborhood of 48 million fish, this is 29% greater than the long-term (1963-2019) average of 34.6 million salmon. Bristol Bay is the last great salmon run and it needs to be protected from environmental disturbance like the proposed mining project Pebble Mine – if built Pebble Mine would be the largest mining operation in North America.
Idaho’s rivers were once teaming with wild salmon just like Bristol Bay, however dams have altered the river habitat. Wild, free flowing rivers and the species that inhabit them are an integral part of Idaho. A key part of many Idaho rivers are the epic runs of wild Snake River Chinook, steelhead, and sockeye salmon. These iconic fish provide for river communities and enrich ecosystems across the state - when they return in abundant numbers.
Members can purchase salmon from our website to receive a discount! If you need your membership code, please email admin@idahorivers.org.
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All of Idaho’s salmonid species are lingering on the brink of extinction. Crucial for migration, the Columbia-Snake River corridor has long been fragmented and heavily modified by a series of hydropower dams. These obstructions have taken their toll, slowing and warming the river environment, drastically reducing the survival of juvenile salmon headed seaward. Last year, only 14 wild sockeye salmon made their way back to Idaho’s esteemed Redfish Lake, a faint shadow of the thousands of fish that once returned yearly to a string of central Idaho lakes. Chinook and steelhead have begun to suffer similar declines and their absence has had a profound negative impact on riverside towns nestled throughout the Clearwater and Salmon River drainages in which these fish spawn.
Paramount to recovering Idaho’s salmon is restoring the Lower Snake River. IRU advocates for dam breaching and restoring the natural functions of this river section as the most effective means to recover our imperiled fish. Salmon and steelhead hold immense economic potential upon their recovery and are vital to the river systems’ biodiversity and ecosystem balance. Wild rivers and wild salmon are central to Idaho’s society and deserve to continue to be a sustainable part of the future. It is time to open up the rivers to allow salmon an easier return to their native waters. Idaho Rivers United (IRU) has spent the last thirty years working to conserve Idaho’s magnificent river systems as well as restore those that have been degraded.
Pride of Bristol Bay and Idaho Rivers United are supportive business partners. We share salmon conservation issues, work together to protect fisheries from detrimental mining proposals, and share the same values about protecting wild salmon and wild rivers in all our key fishery systems. POBB encourages you to eat and enjoy this valuable protein source from their stocks in Alaska - this supports the amazing renewable resource from Alaska, and in turn, supports sustainable fishing and healthy fisheries. Energizing your body with the world’s greatest omegas and vitamins (and, we should add: no GMO’s, no coloring, no antibiotics, no preservatives) – all natural, sustainably caught fish!
IRU’s and POBB partnership also benefits conservation work and you. POBB donates 1% of all sales back to TU Alaska for habitat protection along with an additional 2% of all Idaho salmon sales to Idaho Rivers United, supporting our continual river and native fish conservation efforts. POBB is now taking orders for the fall buying clubs deliveries that take place in Boise, Hailey, and Ketchum each September. Order through IRU membership perk site and receive 5% of your purchase.