The Somass River is not the only BC sockeye run in trouble this year – the Skeena River in northern B.C., second in production only to the Fraser River, is forecasting their lowest return on record this year.
As a result, more than a dozen First Nations communities along the river and on the coast have decided not to fish the sockeye run, the second such decision in the past four years.
It has also resulted in a decision by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to close the recreational fishery on the Skeena River to all salmon species, including Chinook.
Half of the expected 170,000 Somass Sockeye have made it up the river this month, and DFO will conduct an in-season reforecast of the run size next week.