Animal Life - Bear Cam

 It's that time of year in Katmai National Park!

Although Fat Bear Week isn't officially until October, there has been an extraordinary sockeye salmon run this year already.  Curry Cunningham, a fisheries ecologist, expects this to be a record setting year.

The Bristol Bay feeds the Naknek River which then leads to Brooks River.  Ecologists, biologists, and the EPA are fighting against the construction of a copper and gold mine, which would adversely impact these waters and the protections in place for the salmon populations.

The Bristol Bay fishery is well-managed.  The state of Alaska ensures a sustainable number of fish for the wild and the fishing industry.  Over 40 million sockeye salmon were caught in 2018.

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