Sockeye fishery heats up

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The Somass River Sockeye fishery is about to begin again as commercial gillnetters get ready in Barkley Sound and local First Nations prepare for the river fishery.

WCVI Stock Assessment Biologist Nick Brown predicts an average year for sockeye returns, from 500,000 to 700,000 fish.

But he says the salmon could face difficult challenges once they enter the Somass River this summer.

“The snow pack in the area is exceptionally low and snow melt does provide an important source of cool, fresh water for sockeye migrating upstream,” he said “The bulk of these fish swim into the lakes in the middle of the summer when the air temperatures are hottest, so we do know that it’s going to be a fairly challenging year for Sockeye migrating upstream.”

Brown said while ocean survivability has been good for the past few years, biologists have noticed declining productivity in Sproat Lake.

Researchers will have a better understanding of this year’s return when they send out the test boat later next month.