The first sockeye stock assessment of the season was released yesterday, confirming the dire situation facing this year’s run.
According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada researchers, only 170,000 sockeye are expected to return to Sproat and Great Central Lakes this year.
The run is vastly different from 2016 when a million fish were forecast, and more than 50,000 sockeye had already been caught by this time last year.
The drop was caused by drought conditions 4 years ago, when most fish failed to make it to the spawning grounds because of the abnormally warm temperature of the Somass River.
Due to the low forecast there is no sockeye fishery this year, although that could change if the run estimate is increased after a test fishery being conducted today.