Buried the actual lede of the story... so here it is:

""Seeing these salmon runs exceeding estimated pre-season numbers by four and five times is truly a reflection of the hard work we have done to remove fish farms on the approach to the Fraser River," Werk pointed out. "

As a former deckhand on a family commercial salmon troller in 1990s, before the explosion of fish farms on the coast, I think there are more factors than just the closing of open net fish farms that has supported the return of this year's huge run of sockeye. It could be ocean temperatures in the North Pacific rebounding (down), it could be conditions on the Fraser River and the spawning streams... many things.

But do i think fish farms were decimating the health of fish migrating to and from the Fraser River and contributing to low return runs?

You're damn right I do.

https://www.albernivalleynews.com/home2/rare-recreational-fishery-opening-on-lower-fraser-due-to-huge-sockeye-run-8202751
#bcPoli#FishFarms#Salmon#Sockeye