Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search

Results of the Pacific tidal recreational fishing survey, 2021

On this page

Pacific tidal recreational fishing 2000 to 2021, fast facts

Photo: infographic of Pacific tidal recreational fishing 2000 to 2020, fast facts
Long text version

Pacific tidal recreational fishing 2000 to 2020, fast facts

Key metrics for the pacific tidal recreational fishing industry. Metrics exclude Juvenile and Family Fishing Weekend licence holders. All values reflect the average from 2000 to 2021. Dollar amounts are in 2021 dollars.

There is considerable economic spin-off value generated by the tidal water recreational sector with expenditures averaging $712M over the past 20 years. Of these expenditures, $361M was value added by the recreational fishing industry to provincial GDP.

Salmon was the primary target on 70% of fishing trips in BC tidal waters, with chinook being the most targeted species in 2021.

Recreational Fishers: While BC residents dominate sport fishing in British Columbia, there is a growing interest in tidal water fishing from visitors to the province.

Recreational fishers spent 8.2 days per year fishing, on average. By residency, the average number of fishing days and active fishers are:

Pacific tidal fishing spatial and temporal patterns, 2021

Photo: infographic of Pacific tidal fishing spatial and temporal patterns, 2021
Long text version

Pacific tidal fishing spatial and temporal patterns, 2021

Participation and spending trends had been fairly consistent since 2000 until COVID-19 in 2020. The following are trends over the last 20 year period. Dollar amounts are in 2020 dollars.

Fishing activity peaks in the summer months with 76% of fishing occurring from June to September

In 2021, 87% of fishing days and 77% of expenditures took place in the Strait of Georgia, Barkley Sound, Johnstone Strait, and the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

Fishing days and expenditures by month are presented from April to March, the fishing year.

2019-20 fishing days

2020-21 fishing days

2021-22 fishing days

2020-21 expenditures (2021 $)

2021-22 expenditures (2021 $)

Pacific tidal fishing regional patterns in 2021

Photo: infographic of Pacific tidal fishing regional patterns in 2021
Long text version

Pacific tidal fishing regional patterns in 2021

Key metrics for each of the seven pacific tidal recreational fishing regions.

Values reflect the 2021-22 fishing year and dollar amounts are in 2021 dollars.

North Coast

Haida Gwaii

Central Coast

Johnstone Strait

Strait of Georgia

West Coast Vancouver Island

Barkley Sound

Chinook were the primary target species in all regions other than the North Coast.

Fishing expenditures and days by region

Fishing expenditures

Fishing days

50% of fishing days and 38% of fishing expenditures took place in the strait of Georgia in 2021.

Pacific tidal fishing 2021, Pacific salmon

Photo: infographic of Pacific tidal fishing 2021, Pacific salmon
Long text version

Pacific tidal fishing 2021, Pacific salmon

Salmon are the most targeted recreational species group in BC tidal waters, with chinook being the primary target in 2021.

Days and expenditures by species

Fishing expenditures by species (2021 $):

Fishing days by species group:

Recreational fishers rarely target only a single species:

106K recreational fishers targeted chinook in 2021, of these:

Photo: infographic of Pacific tidal recreational fishing 2000 to 2020, regions and patterns
Long text version

Pacific tidal recreational fishing 2010 to 2021, trends

Participation and spending sharply declined in 2020. The following are trends since 2010. Dollar amounts are in 2021 dollars.

Expenditures

Active fishers

Fishing days by residency

BC residents

Other Canadians

International

Pacific tidal recreational fishing 2021, COVID-19

Photo: infographic of Pacific tidal recreational fishing 2000 to 2020, regions and patterns
Long text version

Pacific tidal recreational fishing 2021, COVID-19

The following is a residency breakdown of changes in fishing activity and expenditures in 2021 compared to the period prior to and immediately following the onset of COVID-19 related restrictions.

Percent change in fishing expenditures and activity in 2021 compared to pre-COVID (prior to April 2020). Note that expenditures compares 2021 levels to 2015 levels while other metrics compare 2021 levels to 2019 levels:

BC residents:

Visitors (includes other Canadian and international fishers):

Percent change in fishing expenditures and activity in 2021 compared to the period following the initial COVID-19 disruption (April 2020 to March 2021). Note that all metrics compare 2021 levels to levels reported for the 2020 fishing season.

BC residents

Visitors (includes other Canadian and international fishers):

Per day fishing expenditures break down by expenditure type and residency:

Residents:

Visitors (includes Other Canadian and International Fishers):

On average, BC residents spend less than visitors per fishing day on direct expenses and packages but more on major purchases.

Photo: infographic of Pacific tidal recreational fishing 2000 to 2020, regions and patterns
Long text version

Pacific tidal fishing expenditure trends

Total fishing expenditures increased by 18% from 2020 to 2021

Per day fishing expenditures trends, 2010 to 2021

Direct expenditures

Fishing packages

Major purchases

Per day direct spending increased for all direct expenditure items from 2020 to 2021.

Below is a break-down of percent change in direct expenditures from 2020 to 2021 for each expenditure item:

Pacific tidal fishing expenditures, 2021

Photo: infographic of Pacific tidal recreational fishing 2000 to 2020, regions and patterns
Long text version

Pacific tidal fishing expenditures, 2021

Expenditures by trip type

Shore-based:

Private boat no guide:

Private boat with guide:

Hired boat with guide / charter:

Charter trips had the highest direct daily expenditures but the lowest annual fishing expenditures.

Expenditures by trip type and species

Shore-based:

Private boat no guide:

Private boat with guide:

Private boat with guide / charter:

Salmon are the primary target across all trip types.

Groundfish and other finfish are targeted more frequently on guided trips.

Shellfish are targeted more on self-guided trips.

Pacific tidal fishing package deals, 2021

Photo: infographic of Pacific tidal fishing package deals, 2021
Long text version

Pacific tidal fishing package deals, 2021

Average cost per package (2021 $)

Package expenditures by package type and region

Northern Coast:

Haida Gwaii:

Central Coast:

Johnstone Strait:

Strait of Georgia:

West Coast of Vancouver Island:

Barkley Sound:

Package types vary by price and region:

Notes and methodology

Concepts, terms and definitions

Active fisher:
an individual who fished in the corresponding fishing season.
Fishing day:
a day or part of a day on which an individual fished for recreation.
Direct expenditures:
expenditures on goods and services (food, camping, accommodation, transportation, supplies, etc.) incurred during fishing trips or excursions.
Major purchases:
the purchase of durable goods and investments in support of recreational fishing activities. These include boats, motors, special vehicles, camping gear and other durable goods, as well as land and building purchases. Respondents reported the total purchase price as well as the percentage which the respondent felt was directly attributable to recreational fishing. In this report, only purchases attributable to recreational fishing are presented.
Package expenditures:
monies paid to a lodge or outfitter for a complete range of services such as lodging, food, transportation, use of fishing equipment, etc. Four types of packages were defined for the purposes of this survey:
  • Charter boat package: a package which includes fishing in a boat and may include other goods or services such as a guide, food, or fishing supplies, but excludes accommodation and airfare.
  • Lodge package: a package which includes accommodation and may include other goods or services such as a guided charter, food, or fishing supplies, but excludes airfare.
  • Fly-in package: a package which includes airfare and may include other goods or services such as accommodations, a guided charter, food, or fishing supplies.
  • Other: a package which does not include fishing in a boat, accommodations, or airfare, but may include other goods or services such as a guide, food, or fishing supplies.
Percent change:
calculated as 𝑟 = ((𝑝𝑛 − 𝑝0)/𝑝0) ∗ 100 where 𝑟 is average annual percent change, 𝑝𝑛 and 𝑝0 are the final and initial observations in the period, respectively.
Recreational fishing:
refers to non-commercial fishing; recreational angling and sport fishing are covered in the definition used by the survey. Note that food, social and ceremonial fishing is not covered by the survey and is therefore, not included in any of the estimates presented in this report.
Residency:
The place in which the license holder permanently resided within the survey year.
BC resident:
An individual who lived within British Columbia during the survey year.
Other canadian:
An individual who lived within Canada, but outside British Columbia during the survey year.
International fisher:
An individual who lived outside of Canada during the survey year.
Visitor:
An individual who’s primary residence is outside of BC (includes Other Canadian and International fishers).
Trip Type:
Respondents distributed their days fished across four types of fishing days. This considers all fishing days and is separate from package types which are specific to package expenditures.

Data description

The primary data source used for this report was the Internet Socioeconomic Analysis (iSEA) Survey of Tidal Water Recreational Fishing in British Columbia, 2021. This survey was administered by DFO Pacific and collected socioeconomic information on tidal water recreational fishing activity in British Columbia (BC) throughout the 2021 fishing season (from April 2021-March 2022). The survey questions were organized into two sections – fishing effort (days), and fishing expenditures. A random sample of 20,000 individuals, who purchased a tidal water fishing licence in the 2021 season, were selected to complete the survey. In total, 5,707 individuals completed the survey in full, resulting in an effective sample rate of 2.1%.

This survey was similarly administered in the 2019 and 2020 fishing seasons. The data from these previous iterations were also used in generating some of the statistics presented in this report. While the focus was consistent throughout the three iterations, the 2019 survey did not include questions related to expenditures. The sampling approach in 2019 and 2020 was consistent to that of 2021. The 2019 and 2020 surveys achieved effective sample rates of 1.5% and 2.7%, respectively.

In addition to the iSEA surveys, the figures presented in this report were supplemented using data from the Survey of Recreational Fishing in Canada. This survey was historically run by DFO every 5-years up until 2015, and collected socioeconomic information on all fishing activity (tidal and freshwater) across Canada. In contrast to iSEA, this survey was run based on the calendar year rather than the fishing season. Information from the 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 iterations were used for generating reported recreational fishing statistics for BC prior to 2019. More information on this survey is available from DFO’s national website.

Note that survey results presented in this report have been weighted in order to scale results to the licence population level. Additionally, many survey results presented in this report are transformed data. Fields such as fishing days and expenditures were calculated by distributing reported values across species, spatial and trip categories.

Additional notes on methodology

Unless otherwise specified, all dollar metrics presented in this report are in 2021$.

Throughout this report, Fishing Expenditures refers to the sum of Direct Expenditures, Major Purchases, and Package Expenditures reported in the corresponding survey year.

On page 1 of this report GDP, Household Income, and Jobs statistics were calculated using multipliers from British Columbia’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector Report, developed by BC Stats. This report is available from the government of British Columbia’s website.

On Page 6 of this report, “Pre-COVID” reflects the percent change from 2019-2021 for Active Fishers and Fishing Days, from 2015-2021 for Per Day Expenditures. This is because no data on expenditures were available for 2019.

Date modified: