Bristol Bay

Bristol Bay produces roughly half of the world's wild sockeye salmon every summer. The run window is brutally short — usually three to four weeks in late June and July — and the fishery is one of the most carefully managed in the world. Catch limits are set by escapement counts on the rivers feeding the bay, and the fleet is held to strict gear restrictions: 32-foot bowpickers, set-net sites on the beach, no exceptions.

The bay itself is a vast, shallow body of water with strong tides and unpredictable weather. Boats fish 16-to-20-hour openers when the run is on, and the entire region's economy revolves around the few weeks when the fish come home.

What lands here in July ends up on plates across the country in August and September — flash-frozen at sea or processed within hours of the dock for premium fillets. If you've ever bought "wild Alaska sockeye," there's a good chance it came from Bristol Bay.