STEVESTON, British Columbia, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Sockeye salmon are running up the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada, in numbers unseen in decades, fishing regulators said.
The Pacific Salmon Commission this week opened commercial fishing on the river for what has turned out to be a frantic 32-hour window of opportunity for a languishing industry, the Globe and Mail reported Thursday.
The commission in July estimated the salmon run would peak at 11 million fish this year. The new estimate of 25 million triggered a scramble to the river to set nets and haul in a profit.
The almost unprecedented run -- the largest run since 1913 -- has even strained the industry's infrastructure. The only local cannery in Steveston, British Columbia, "is a museum," the Globe and Mail said.
The cannery was shipping 800-pound totes of fish north to Prince Rupert for processing, Steveston fisherman Mike Rekis said.
"It's nice to see the town come alive like this. There are smiles on people's faces, people are happy. I've seen so many people go bankrupt, people lose their boats, lose everything."
"And fishing was never just about making money," he said. "It was about the lifestyle. It's nice to see it back."
