Bristol Bay is one of the best places in the entire world to have a fantastic fishing experience. Bristol Bay is located in Alaska and spans an area 250 miles long and 180 miles wide.

This beautiful bay sits between the mainland of Alaska cialis sales online and the Alaskan Peninsula. This bay is the home of the largest salmon run in the entire world.

This salmon run is made up of several varieties of salmon, including chum, silver, and king salmon. However, most fishermen are drawn to Bristol Bay at this time for the bounty of sockeye salmon.

These Kamagra Soft large salmon put up fantastic fights when No prescription cialis they are being reeled in. This challenge is where a fisherman can prove his mettle and skill. Sport fishing is one of the most popular activities in Alaska.

As a result, the industry is a key part of the local and state community and economy. In a typical year, the recreation and tourism related to Bristol Bay fishing will bring in $90 million annually.

Most of this money comes from taxes, fees, and licenses related to fishing itself. Sport fishing revenues bring in about two-thirds of this money.

Of this $60 million, nonresidents and high-end lodge clients are known to contribute the most. In addition, review of the records in 2007 found that the anglers had spent almost $1.4 billion on fishing trips, equipment, and maintenance of the land used for fishing.

Residents also spent quite a sum on sport fishing at $733 million. Nonresidents spending also totaled a large sum of $652 million.

The fishing industries surrounding Bristol Bay also support a large part of the Alaskan population through employment. About 15,879 jobs were supported by the sport fishing industry in 2007.

These jobs provided more than $545 million in wages and benefits. In addition, over 37,000 fishing trips are taken every year to Bristol Bay freshwater fisheries.

Only one third of these fishing trips were due to nonresidential tourists. Despite the popularity of Alaskan fishing and fantastic opportunities that Alaskan fishing provides, the Bristol Bay community is now facing threats to their livelihood.

The federal government has given foreign mining companies the authority to mine copper and gold from mines in the middle of the Bristol Bay headwaters. There are many different presidents that have contributed to this growing problem, namely the past four: Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama.

This mining project is most commonly known as The Pebble Mind project. The Pebble Mind project is moving forward while the Democratic Congress and other governmental administration still prevent American petroleum companies from exploring and gathering the oil on Alaska’s North Slope.

The Pebble Mine Partnership is a part of the Northern Dynasty Minerals, Ltd and the Anglo-American.

The Northern Dynasty Minerals is a Canadian mining company and the Anglo-American is a London bases amalgamation of a collection of mining groups from around the world.

The mining project will open pit copper and gold mines. The process of which will threaten one of the largest Alaskan salmon spawning waters.

It is expected that the Pebble Mine will produce 3 billion tons of waste while it is in operation. Northern Dynasty plans to contain this toxic waste behind several dams that will be 700 feet high and a couple miles in length.

One dam is expected to be larger than the Hoover or China’s Three Gorges Dam. The Three Gorges Dam is 7,575 feet long, 607 feet high and 377 feet thick at the bottom.

If the current plan continues, the Pebble Mine will be the biggest in North America. The mine is expected to be about two miles wide and several thousand feet deep.

Another underground mine is also expected to be opened to the east of the Pebble Mine for ore. These processes will contaminate the water and potentially harm the fish.

The last major threat to the fishing industry in Bristol Bay occurred when Exxon spilled millions of gallons of oil in Prince William Sound. The oil itself never reached Bristol Bay, but people naturally associated Prince William Sound with Bristol Bay and assumed the oil had affected the fish in both locations.

The result of the association ended with a decline in the price of salmon, which had a huge impact of the fishing industry. The Pebble Mine would have an even more devastating effect on the Bristol Bay area.

Bristol Bay is the center of life for Alaska and the salmon. Livelihoods, vacations, and unique connections with nature will be lost if the waters of Bristol Bay are damaged.

Author Bio: Jack R. Landry has been a backwoods fishing guide in Alaska and western Canada for 25 years. He has written hundreds of articles about Alaska fishing trips and Alaska fly fishing generally.

Contact Info:
Jack R. Landry
JackRLandry@gmail.com
http://alaskarainbowlodge.com

Category: Recreation and Leisure/Travel
Keywords: Alaska fishing trips