Last Wednesday, gillnet fishing boats worked the mouth of the Fraser River for the first time in three years. (CBC)

A B.C. First Nations fishery adviser is warning against allowing commercial fishermen to scoop up as many sockeye salmon as possible during this year's massive salmon return on the Fraser River.

Ernie Crey of the Sto:lo First Nation said it's arrogant to think that most of the fish need to be hauled in to levels approaching what he calls a "maximum sustainable yield."

He said it would be arrogant and "stupid" to overfish in order to put a smile on the faces of shareholders in fish companies and retail stores.

Some commercial fishermen have been pressing to increase catches with estimates the return could reach 30 million fish, arguing the salmon should not go to waste. Biologists have warned allowing too many salmon to reach the spawning grounds farther up river could make them too crowded.

But Crey said the surplus fish that reach spawning grounds mean more food for bears and eagles, while their decaying bodies enrich stream banks and nearby forests.

This year's sockeye salmon run on the Fraser River is the largest since 1913 and while the fish are abundant, the surplus has forced prices down by as much as 25 per cent.

Gillnet fishermen preparing to head out for second fishing opening on Monday morning at the Steveston dock in Richmonds say they are frustrated by the falling prices because their expenses such as fuel have only been rising in recent years.

Fisherman Tien Nguyen said he and his uncle are expecting the price per pound to drop from $1.75 per pound to as low as $0.70 for Monday's catch.

"Twenty years ago the price of fish is very close to $2, and 20 years now the price of fuel went up by triple or four times more, and the price drop ….There's nothing I can do about it," he said.