and by tfrontline journalism fund, with grants from jon and jo ann hagler on behalf of the jon l. hagler foundation, and scott nathan and laura debonis. (birds squawking) >> narrator: it's opening day of the fishing season in bristol bay, alaska. >> i would describe it as pretty close to christmas morning. >> it's just intense, man. it's the beginning of june and you know the fish are coming. you can feel it in the air. i mean, that electricity is in the air. >> narrator: every year, these waters are home to the greatest sockeye salmon fishery on earth. >> in the beginning, the first opening, driving out there-- i've been at this 30-plus years-- i'm going, "why am i still doing this?" and then, after about an hour, we pull the nets in. and as soon as that king comes over the roller, all those shadows of doubts go away. and then you realize, here we go again. there's the presents. there's the gold. >> bristol bay is this just phenomenal resource. it's a salmon factory that doesn't exist anywhere else on the planet anymore. >> bristol bay is off the charts for wild salmon production