Fishing in British Columbia

B.C.'s fisheries were once considered limitless. But fisheries mismanagement and industrialized fishing have damaged fish stocks and the ocean itself. In turn coastal communities have suffered.

Living Oceans Society analyzed Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Stock Assessment Reports, Management Plans and various research documents. We found that of the 58 commercially harvested species in B.C.:

• 24 are rated as low
• 12 are below average
• only 11 are average to optimal
• 11 species lack information

Nonetheless, commercial fishing is still important in B.C.

• Commercial and sport fishing, and processing wild fish, contributed $396 million to B.C.’s economy in 2001 (the last year for which figures are available)
• Commercial fishing incomes that year totaled $62 million in 2001
• Fish-processing employed 3,900 people who earned an estimated $152 million
• Commercial fishermen catch over $100 million worth of fish annually on the North Coast
• The North Coast fishery that employs over 2,500

Although B.C.'s fisheries are healthier than many around the world this cannot last unless significant improvements are made to the way we fish.