A record-shattering number of sockeye salmon is estimated to be returning to the Fraser River this year, but whether the prediction holds any water remains to be seen.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is estimating this year’s sockeye run at up to a staggering 72-million fish, more than double the record run of 30 million in 2010.

Experts attribute the potentially massive run to cooler ocean temperatures and plentiful food sources.

The fishing industry is already preparing for the prospect of a banner year.

“It’s a fishermen’s dream, obviously,” said Frank Keitsch of Organic Ocean. “It’s going to be a challenge, so this morning we’re already thinking ‘Okay, is my boat gonna be ready? Do I need more crew?’ There are a lot of things going through your mind.”

Keitsch said the boon could be good news not only for fishermen but for consumers as well.

“It’s like anything else, when there’s an overabundance of something people want, the prices will go down.”

Rollie Rose, the owner of Sooke Salmon Charters, said in a presentation on the weekend, a DFO biologist mentioned that salmon fishing this year could be the best in a lifetime.

“Any news like this is good news,” he said. “It should mean more business and more people around. Even BC Ferries should see an increase in traffic.”

It’s even better news for an industry that’s been hit hard in the past 20 years. At one point, the Fraser River’s salmon stocks dwindled to such an alarming number it prompted a federal inquiry in 2009.

“If you go up the coast in the last couple years, there’s been quite a few lodges that have gone under,” Rose said. “People have been in survival mode now for five years.”

This year’s run could be anywhere from 7.2 million to 72-million, according to the DFO – but even if the real number is somewhere in the middle, it’ll be a great year for the industry, according to Rose.

“It puts a smile on my face to hear some good news for a change.”

Last year the DFO banned fishing on the Fraser River because of an abysmally low sockeye run – which was originally forecast at 4.7 million, but ended up being closer to half of that number.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Scott Roberts and The Canadian Press.