Our recommendations address economic benefit by asking for directed restoration dollars that will create local jobs, increasing fishing results that will increase tourism to the community. A sport fish report showed that a 50% decline in chinook fishing results in lower GDP by millions of dollars, wages lost in millions of dollars, up to 200 person-years of employment lost, and a reduction in federal taxes of $6 million. That's based on the 2007 Gislason report commissioned by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. We think this is a critical sector to support.
As you may know, in the past, there was a significant lack of trust in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. There have been protest fisheries with high social and economic costs, and high enforcement and litigation costs for the federal government. There was a lack of understanding, tolerance, and respect between sectors.
Poor management performance was exhibited in the form of overfishing. There were no strategic management plans in place. Moving from conflict to collaboration creates economic stability and benefit. Today, inclusive and collaborative round tables work together on fisheries management plans and habitat restoration goals.
Our region has been severely degraded due to decades of industrial business and urban activity. Little remediation has been done except for small-scale localized stream restoration projects. I want to mention that they have done a lot of good work, but there is more required to be done. In order to better assess the system, the Somass integrated habitat restoration overview report was commissioned. In order to restore optimal function to these systems, it's necessary to spend in the order of $15 million. This restoration is critical as the fisheries in the sound are particularly susceptible to climate change. We face the potential loss of one of the largest sockeye runs in the province as well as reduced chinook, coho, and chum runs.
The Barkley Sound region encompasses some of the most productive fisheries in British Columbia with an average annual sockeye return of 750,000. In the last two years sockeye returns have been between one and two million.
In order to demonstrate the fisheries economic benefit, I would like to comment on a couple of fisheries that happened this year. First nations communities rely upon a stable fishery for food, social, and ceremonial use as well as economic opportunity. Last year, local first nations in the Barkley Sound caught almost 200,000 sockeye resulting in a direct economic benefit of $4 million. This doesn't include any multiplier effects such as fishing equipment, food, clothing, transportation, housing, and other consumables. Much of the benefit is local.