
Nuyakuk Counting Towers​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
BBSRI has been operating the Nuyakuk counting tower project on the Nuyakuk River since 2023. The project had been run intermittently by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, from 1956-1988 and 1995-2006, however it was cancelled in 2007 due to budgetary limitations.
The Nuyakuk River is one of the largest sockeye-producing tributaries in the Nushagak drainage, frequently hosting runs of over 1.5 million sockeye during the summer.

Tower technician conducting a count
The counting tower project operates from June 26 to July 27. Three technicians live on-site at the field camp, and conduct passage counts from the two counting towers every hour.
​
One counting tour is installed on each side of the river. Tower technicians conduct one 10 minute count from each tower every hour, for a total of 16 counts every 8 hours, and these counts are used to create an index of total sockeye passage. Each of the three technicians work 8-hour shifts every day so that we have 24/7 coverage of the sockeye run.
Sampling​​​​
Technicians use a beach sein to collect samples and data from live salmon. Once a school of fish is corralled in the sein, they are sampled for sex and length and scale and tissue samples are taken before being released back into the river.
​​​​

Tower technicians sampling sockeye with a beach seine net

Radio-Tagging​​​​
During the 2024 season, the tower crew also assisted with a radio-telemetry study that was being conducted by the Nushagak Cooperative. Technicians placed radio tags in sockeye that were captured for sampling at the Nuyakuk tower site. Tagged fish were later detected using telemetry further upriver, near the Nuyakuk falls.
​
This helped researchers to estimate the portion of sockeye that migrated up to the falls, rather than into smaller tributaries, and to study their migratory behaviors.
Nushagak Cooperative researchers demonstrating tagging procedure
​Nuyakuk River Hydroelectric Project​​​​
In 2017, the Nushagak Cooperative proposed a new hydroelectric project on the Nuyakuk River, which would divert water from the Nuyakuk falls to generate electricity for local residents. BBSRI reintroduced the counting tower project in 2023 to assess the possible impact of the project on the river's sockeye stock and supplement the assessment programs conducted by the Nushagak Cooperative.​​​

Proposed Nuyakuk hydroelectric project design
Full reports and data from the 2023 and 2024 seasons will be available below soon.