Gulf
of Georgia National
Historic Site
At the fishing community
of Steveston, just
30 kilometres south
of Vancouver on
the coast of British
Columbia, you can
experience cannery
life of the early
twentieth century.
Take a look at a
turn of the century
fishing skiff, or
imagine a 12 hour
fish-gutting shift
at the ìsliming
tableî in 1930.
Restored Gulf of
Georgia cannery
buildings, built
between 1894 and
1964, include the
main cannery, icehouse,
vitamin oil shed,
drum storage shed,
watchman¨s house
and lead foundry.
Learn more about
the Gulf of Georgia
Cannery at www.historylands.com. |
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The
Canadian Salmon Industry
The Canadian fishing industry
is one of the most valuable
in the world, generating $5
billion a year and providing
more than 120,000 jobs.
The Pacific fishery accounts
for 16% of total landings,
with top production in hake,
Pacific herring, redfish and
salmon.
Aquaculture produces 10% of
total Canadian fish and shellfish
production, and provides 7,000
jobs. Salmon represents 93%
of aquaculture production,
amounting to $518.6 million
in value.
Exports of farmed salmon in
2000 were British Columbia¨s
most significant exported
agricultural product, at a
value of $270 million.
Fish farms in New Brunswick¨s
Bay of Fundy have become a
$100 million industry, exceeding
all other traditional fisheries
in the Bay combined. Atlantic
salmon is the major product.
There are
18 major fish hatcheries in
the province of British Columbia.
Since 1975, half a billion
dollars has been spent on
Pacific Salmon Enhancement.
In the mid 1990¨s, all salmon
species caught by British
Columbia started to decline.
By 2001, catches have declined
from historic annual average
hauls of 60,000 metric tonnes
to less than 20,000.
In 1999, Canada and the United
States signed the Pacific
Salmon Treaty, a conservation-based
approach to the management
of the Pacific salmon fisheries,
and a more equitable sharing
of salmon catches between
the two countries.
Pre-1800:
Salmon is foundation of aboriginal
prosperity, with survival
dependent on annual harvest.
Fishing methods include seines,
weirs, spears and dip nets.
1829:
First commercial shipments
of salted salmon in barrels
from Hudson¨s Bay Company
post at Fort Langley on the
Fraser River. By 1835, 3,000
to 4,000 barrels per year
exported to Hawaiian Islands
and Asia.
1858:
Fraser River gold rush leads
to conflict with aboriginal
fishers. Fatal confrontation
at Boston Bar between miners
and native people. 1867: First
commercial cannery opened
by James Syme at Annieville
on the Fraser River. Venture
fails.
1870:
Annieville cannery successfully
reopened by Alexander Ewan
and company. Commercial salmon
canning industry underway.
1876:
Sockeye salmon replaces Chinook
as most valuable commercial
species.
1887:
Canadian Pacific Railway completed,
opening eastern Canadian and
US markets for fresh, frozen
and canned salmon.
1900:
More than 90 canneries operate
in British Columbia, with
up to 2 million cases packed
per year. Total commercial
harvest by US and Canadian
industry amounts to 50-80%
of spawning salmon.
1906:
Smith Butchering Machine,
by Seattle inventor Edmund
A. Smith, automates salmon
gutting and cleaning process,
rendering hand-butchering
skills of Chinese cannery
workers obsolete.
1914:
Massive rock slide from CNPR
roadbed crashes into Hell¨s
Gate canyon, reducing river
to 35 metres and destroying
major sockeye runs on Fraser
River.
1917:
Canneries flourish due to
WWI food shortages and salmon
army rations. Pink, chum and
Coho fisheries on Skeena,
Nass and coastal waters compensate
for depleted Fraser River
sockeye resource.
1930:
Wages slashed and plants closed
in wake of Great Depression.
1940:
WWII forced evacuation of
Japanese-Canadians from west
coast leads to seizure of
1,200 fishing boats. Boats
later sold at fraction of
value to packing companies.
1945:
After decades of labour strife,
United Fisherman and Allied
Workers Union established.
China Contract system abolished.
Hell¨s Gate Fishways opened,
leading to gradual resurgence
of Fraser River migration.
Post
1950: Technological
change leads to increased
efficiency of fishing fleet
and centralization of processing
operations. Conflict between
Canadian and American fishers.
Refrigerated seawater preservation
method eliminated need for
plants close to fishing grounds.
Older, isolated canneries
closed. Salmon habitat endangered
by pulp and paper, hydroelectric
development, urbanization,
giving rise to environmental
conflict and regulation. Steep
decline in stocks, competition
from farmed salmon and intensive
fishing by highly mobile fleets.
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