# One River, Two Ways to Count It, AI vs the Tower

> A hand-clicker on a Bristol Bay tower has counted the sockeye since 1955. This year an AI drone wants that job.

Published 2026-07-09 by Alaska AI. 9 slides.
Canonical: https://alaskaaihq.com/archive/2026-07-09/

## What we verified

- An autonomous drone-in-a-box launches at 8:30 a.m. on an automated flight to an observation position above the right bank of the Wood River. [KDLG](https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2026-07-03/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-03.
- Project lead Norm Van Vactor says he has been engaged in the Bristol Bay commercial fishery for 40 years. [KDLG](https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2026-07-03/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-03.
- Ian Chiu develops the machine-learning components of the project remotely. [KDLG](https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2026-07-03/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-03.
- Van Vactor calls the moment an 'amazing convergence of technology,' citing drone-in-a-box, machine learning and AI, Starlink Mini, lithium batteries and solar panels all maturing in the last year or two. [KMXT (republish of KDLG)](https://www.kmxt.org/alaska-statewide-news/2026-07-08/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-08.
- The 2026 Bristol Bay preseason forecast estimates a total run of 44.05 million sockeye. [KDLG Bristol Bay Fisheries Report](https://www.kdlg.org/show/bristol-bay-fisheries-report/2026-07-06/bristol-bay-fisheries-report-july-6-2026), report, 2026-07-06.
- As of July 6, 2026, the total Bristol Bay sockeye run to date was 26,944,183 fish. [KDLG Bristol Bay Fisheries Report](https://www.kdlg.org/show/bristol-bay-fisheries-report/2026-07-06/bristol-bay-fisheries-report-july-6-2026), report, 2026-07-06.
- As of the July 6, 2026 report, Wood River tower escapement to date totaled 2,112,834 fish. [KDLG Bristol Bay Fisheries Report](https://www.kdlg.org/show/bristol-bay-fisheries-report/2026-07-06/bristol-bay-fisheries-report-july-6-2026), report, 2026-07-06.
- Wood River tower crews counted 57,258 sockeye on Sunday. [KDLG Bristol Bay Fisheries Report](https://www.kdlg.org/show/bristol-bay-fisheries-report/2026-07-06/bristol-bay-fisheries-report-july-6-2026), report, 2026-07-06.
- The Wood River escapement goal range is 700,000 to 2.8 million fish, and the 2026 run is within that range. [KDLG Bristol Bay Fisheries Report](https://www.kdlg.org/show/bristol-bay-fisheries-report/2026-07-06/bristol-bay-fisheries-report-july-6-2026), report, 2026-07-06.
- The story was written by Jessie Sheldon and republished statewide via KMXT on July 8, 2026 (originally KDLG, July 3, 2026). [KMXT](https://www.kmxt.org/alaska-statewide-news/2026-07-08/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-08.
- The drone imagery is fed into a computer model intended to generate more accurate salmon escapement counts. [KDLG](https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2026-07-03/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-03.
- Machine-learning developer Ian Chiu describes the end product as a computer vision model trained to pick out salmon from video. [KMXT (republish of KDLG)](https://www.kmxt.org/alaska-statewide-news/2026-07-08/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-08.
- The team will likely need several thousand drone images to train the model to reliably identify a fish; technicians hand-label the imagery. [KDLG](https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2026-07-03/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-03.
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game has used counting towers for Bristol Bay escapement since 1955 (70+ years). [KDLG](https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2026-07-03/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-03.
- Tower crews rotate through continuous 24-hour shifts, counting each passing salmon with a hand-clicker in 10-minute intervals. [KDLG](https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2026-07-03/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-03.
- Most Bristol Bay escapement counts currently come from nine Fish & Game counting tower sites. [KDLG](https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2026-07-03/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-03.
- Project partners include the University of Washington's Fisheries Research Institute (lab at Lake Aleknagik), the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, and the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation. [KDLG](https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2026-07-03/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-03.
- At this stage, Alaska Department of Fish and Game is not directly involved in the drone project. [KDLG](https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2026-07-03/ai-drones-and-salmon-what-new-technology-could-mean-for-bristol-bay-sockeye-counts), report, 2026-07-03.

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