Port Alberni’s self-designation as the ‘Salmon Fishing Capital of the World’ is likely to get a large boost this year as forecasts show a strong return of fish coming back to the Somass River system.
“Whether it be commercial fishing, whether it be the First Nation fisheries or sport fishing or whether it’s tourists just coming to watch the salmon run, there’s a huge impact,” says Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce operations director Elliot Drew.
The latest ‘Somass Sockeye Bulletin’ issued by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (July 10, 2025) forecasts 500,000 to 700,000 fish returning to the Great Central and Sproat Lakes.
“It started with a bang with mass amounts of fish in the river,” says Graham Murrell, fisheries manager with the Hupacasath First Nation. “It was a very successful fishery, the abundances seemed pretty solid. We started with the point of 500,000 but it’s going up,” Murrell says.
Murrell adds that the numbers are good for the Great Central portion of the river system but he has concerns over the situation at Sproat Lake.
“We knew in pre-season forecasts that was likely to be the case, you don’t know how bad the discrepancy will be but it was also off last year,” Murrell says.
Murrell says the Area 23 Harvest Committee is trying to find the root cause of why Sproat is in decline. “We just want to start the conversation, start collecting any data that would be needed to build some baselines,” Murrell says.
Drew says those overall higher returns within the system will translate into better business for companies that rely on fishing fans.
“We know that people travel from all over the world to fish in our waters and they charter companies to sports fish or they bring their own boats, and that’s huge,” Drew says.
There will also be no shortage of individuals coming from further afield to chase down those fish. Drew says he’s noticed a spike in the number of international visitors coming to Port Alberni as they shift their tourism plans away from the United States.
“We’re already seeing a huge increase just in the type of tourists we’re getting – we’re seeing a lot of people coming from back east and Alberta to visit Port Alberni and the West Coast and the Island in general,” Drew says.
Wild trails and hidden gems: Hike, bike and wander Vancouver Island