Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations have signed a commercial sales agreement for Somass River sockeye for the first time in 10 years.

Tseshaht Chief Councillor Les Sam said the two local First Nations came to a tentative agreement with Fisheries and Oceans Canada late Thursday afternoon, and his members have now voted to approve the deal.

"We've initialed an agreement with DFO to initiate a pilot fishery, effective July 4," Sam said Saturday.

The agreement comes as DFO announced the first in-season run re-forecast, bumping the run estimate from 600,000 to 1.05 million fish. Sam said with 25,000 fish now landed by local aboriginal fishermen, the new estimate provides about 160,000 more sockeye which can now be sold legally to commercial buyers.

"Our fisheries manager is now lining up the buyers," Sam said.

Don't expect the familiar roadside sales to disappear entirely, Sam said.

"They're now legal. If a person chooses to put their fish on ice and sell them on the side of the road, we're allowing that," he said.

According to DFO, escapement levels are well ahead of last year at this time, likely as a result of high water flows and cooler temperatures.

Sam said he anticipates a "fairly aggressive" sockeye fishery while the small net fleet has the opportunity to sell their fish at market prices, at its highest quality.

"It's an economic benefit to the entire community," Sam said, adding that there are a number of side benefits.

Sam said commercial buyers typically purchase sockeye in the round, alleviating the need for individual fishermen to clean them and dispose of the offal, and it prevents wastage of any fish that are unsold. He pointed out that last year's huge sockeye run on the Fraser River highlighted a lack of freezer capacity on the West Coast.

"It's unfortunate that our Port Fish plant is closed down, because we could have done some of the processing there. And with the size of this run, we may be looking for more freezer capacity," he said.