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Salmon, herring no longer biggest fish in our waters
Hake, prawns, halibut and other groundfish species now dominate B.C.'s seafood industry
By Jenny Lee, Vancouver Sun August 13, 2011 4:11 AM
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Sa...+fish+waters/5250981/story.html#ixzz1UvUsQQh3
Hake, prawns, halibut and other groundfish species now dominate B.C.'s seafood industry
By Jenny Lee, Vancouver Sun August 13, 2011 4:11 AM
B.C.'s commercial fishing industry isn't just about salmon.
Sure, 15 to 20 years ago, salmon and herring accounted for 90 per cent of the value of B.C.'s commercial fishing industry, but today, other species are more dominant, BC Seafood Alliance executive director Christina Burridge said in an interview.
"Salmon and herring are still important, but groundfish - ranging from high volume/low value species such as hake to high value/low volume species such as halibut - have become significant players," said Burridge who represents commercial fishing interests. Geoduck have gone from being "more or less worthless" 25 years ago, to being worth $8 or $12 a pound in Hong Kong, she said. And in a triumph of marketing, local spot prawn sales have grown to 20 per cent of the total catch from virtually zero since local chef Robert Clark went fishing with Organic Ocean's Steve Johansen, fell in love with prawns, and the two men huddled with the Chefs' Table Society to create B.C.'s Spot Prawn Festival five years ago. It's become a local rite of spring now, Johansen said.
British Columbia's seafood products come from more than 80 species of fish, shellfish and plants. The wholesale value of wild harvests was $757.9 million in 2009. Of that, groundfish such as halibut and hake, which is used for crab sticks and fish balls, accounted for $301.1 million and wild salmon accounted for $154 million.
Most B.C. wild seafood (80 per cent) is exported to Japan, Hong Kong, the rest of China, the United States and United Kingdom. Tuna sales have risen since improved on-board freezing opened up sashimi markets worldwide, Burridge said. Domestic demand for prawns, tuna and salmon is new and growing now that the local market is prepared to pay what Asian markets have paid since the 1970s, she said.
Generally though, commercial fishing has declined, sometimes dramatically, over the past decade because of conservative harvest rates, Burridge said. "The salmon example is a perfect one. In 2009, we expected 12 million sockeye and got 1.5.... In 2010, after the worst year in 100 years, we had the best year in 100 years."
At the same time, the seafood business has become global. "You can buy a fileted chum salmon caught in northern Japan, processed in China, sold in a Vancouver supermarket for less than we produce a filet of our own chum salmon," Burridge said.
The solution is innovation. "We need to produce a better chum salmon," she said. "We have to find ways of doing more with the small volumes we will harvest in the future. We have to go for quality and sometimes that will mean we have to change the way we actually fish in order to get that quality."
Innovative processing contributes significantly to harvest value. Salmon value increases between two and four times, said Rob Morley of Canadian Fishing Company (Canfisco), the largest salmon canner in Canada which has been seeking niche markets and changing product mix to adapt to supply.
B.C. can't compete with Alaska on volume. "Our labour costs per case of salmon are more than double what theirs are," Morley said. He is a strong supporter of the defined share system in which each licence holder has a predefined share of any available catch, and thus is able to time delivery for best market value. But third generation gillnetter Mike Forrest, a Port Coquitlam councillor, said the system muscles out individuals. Forrest pulls logs, does salvage, beachcombing, rescue and water taxi work to make ends meet, and worries his children and grandchildren will not be able to fish.
The uncertain climate has led to processor consolidation. On June 1, Canfisco took over operation of Ocean Fisheries' fishing and processing facilities and is now the only major player in B.C. A handful of small, often family operated processors still exist.
The B.C. commercial fishing, preparation and packing industry constituted 0.2 per cent of the B.C. GDP last year. Twenty years ago, it was about one per cent, BC Stats said. The industry employs about 3,300 in person years in harvesting (or about 8,000 commercial fishermen all told,) 4,000 in processing and 1,400 in retail and distribution, said Burridge using estimates from G.S. Gislason and Associates.
Fraser sockeye had its first fishery of the year Thursday. Early indications for 2011 are that sockeye will exceed the pre-season forecast, said fisherman Mike Griswold, vicepresident of the Gulf Trollers Association.
First of a series jennylee@vancouversun.com Blog: vancouversun/smallbusiness
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Sa...+fish+waters/5250981/story.html#ixzz1UvV2C0DZ
Sure, 15 to 20 years ago, salmon and herring accounted for 90 per cent of the value of B.C.'s commercial fishing industry, but today, other species are more dominant, BC Seafood Alliance executive director Christina Burridge said in an interview.
"Salmon and herring are still important, but groundfish - ranging from high volume/low value species such as hake to high value/low volume species such as halibut - have become significant players," said Burridge who represents commercial fishing interests. Geoduck have gone from being "more or less worthless" 25 years ago, to being worth $8 or $12 a pound in Hong Kong, she said. And in a triumph of marketing, local spot prawn sales have grown to 20 per cent of the total catch from virtually zero since local chef Robert Clark went fishing with Organic Ocean's Steve Johansen, fell in love with prawns, and the two men huddled with the Chefs' Table Society to create B.C.'s Spot Prawn Festival five years ago. It's become a local rite of spring now, Johansen said.
British Columbia's seafood products come from more than 80 species of fish, shellfish and plants. The wholesale value of wild harvests was $757.9 million in 2009. Of that, groundfish such as halibut and hake, which is used for crab sticks and fish balls, accounted for $301.1 million and wild salmon accounted for $154 million.
Most B.C. wild seafood (80 per cent) is exported to Japan, Hong Kong, the rest of China, the United States and United Kingdom. Tuna sales have risen since improved on-board freezing opened up sashimi markets worldwide, Burridge said. Domestic demand for prawns, tuna and salmon is new and growing now that the local market is prepared to pay what Asian markets have paid since the 1970s, she said.
Generally though, commercial fishing has declined, sometimes dramatically, over the past decade because of conservative harvest rates, Burridge said. "The salmon example is a perfect one. In 2009, we expected 12 million sockeye and got 1.5.... In 2010, after the worst year in 100 years, we had the best year in 100 years."
At the same time, the seafood business has become global. "You can buy a fileted chum salmon caught in northern Japan, processed in China, sold in a Vancouver supermarket for less than we produce a filet of our own chum salmon," Burridge said.
The solution is innovation. "We need to produce a better chum salmon," she said. "We have to find ways of doing more with the small volumes we will harvest in the future. We have to go for quality and sometimes that will mean we have to change the way we actually fish in order to get that quality."
Innovative processing contributes significantly to harvest value. Salmon value increases between two and four times, said Rob Morley of Canadian Fishing Company (Canfisco), the largest salmon canner in Canada which has been seeking niche markets and changing product mix to adapt to supply.
B.C. can't compete with Alaska on volume. "Our labour costs per case of salmon are more than double what theirs are," Morley said. He is a strong supporter of the defined share system in which each licence holder has a predefined share of any available catch, and thus is able to time delivery for best market value. But third generation gillnetter Mike Forrest, a Port Coquitlam councillor, said the system muscles out individuals. Forrest pulls logs, does salvage, beachcombing, rescue and water taxi work to make ends meet, and worries his children and grandchildren will not be able to fish.
The uncertain climate has led to processor consolidation. On June 1, Canfisco took over operation of Ocean Fisheries' fishing and processing facilities and is now the only major player in B.C. A handful of small, often family operated processors still exist.
The B.C. commercial fishing, preparation and packing industry constituted 0.2 per cent of the B.C. GDP last year. Twenty years ago, it was about one per cent, BC Stats said. The industry employs about 3,300 in person years in harvesting (or about 8,000 commercial fishermen all told,) 4,000 in processing and 1,400 in retail and distribution, said Burridge using estimates from G.S. Gislason and Associates.
Fraser sockeye had its first fishery of the year Thursday. Early indications for 2011 are that sockeye will exceed the pre-season forecast, said fisherman Mike Griswold, vicepresident of the Gulf Trollers Association.
First of a series jennylee@vancouversun.com Blog: vancouversun/smallbusiness
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Sa...+fish+waters/5250981/story.html#ixzz1UvV2C0DZ
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Sa...+fish+waters/5250981/story.html#ixzz1UvUsQQh3
