Sockeye salmon fishing is about to ramp up in Bristol Bay, Alaska as more than 60 million fish are expected to return, as they do year after year, to the rivers and streams within this globally important watershed. Thousands of people devote their lives to this pursuit during the height of the short summer season from June to July. Bristol Bay’s thriving sockeye salmon population depends on a healthy ecosystem—one that our Pedro Bay Rivers project is trying to permanently protect. We asked photographer Bri Dwyer to take us on a journey into the fishing culture of the area to find out what makes it so special, and why so many people in this community are lining up to support our preservation effort.