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2023 Economic profile of the BC salmon fishery

The following profile provides the socioeconomic context of the BC salmon fishery in British Columbia. It includes an overview of the commercial and recreational sectors. This overview is based on data collected from DFO commercial harvest logbooks and sale slips, public reports, and DFO surveys on harvest prices and recreational fisheries.

2023 Economic Profile of the BC Salmon Fishery, commercial fisheries overview
Long text version

2023 Economic profile of the BC salmon fishery

Commercial fisheries overview

Key metrics for the BC Salmon Fishery, all values are from 2023 in 2023 dollars

Landed value by species and active licence count annual trend chart

Landed value

Active licence count

2018 was a dominant Fraser sockeye year (that occurs every 4 year). Effort was high resulting high landed value at $75M.

BC wild salmon value averaged at $41M between 2018 and 2023.

Change in active licences since 2019Footnote 1

2023 sockeye landed value is $6.2M

Export quantity by species (2017-2023) in kilograms

Chinook

Sockeye

Chum

Coho

Pink

Other

In 2023, the U.S. accounted for 55% of total wild salmon exports by weight followed by Japan (11%).

Both landings and exports have declined over the past decade. In recent years, higher exports compared to landings indicates that BC is importing wild salmon for further processing and exporting. However, due to a lack of available data that distinguishes between imported and domestically harvested wild salmon at the processing or consumption stage, it is not possible to determine how much domestic harvest is processed or consumed within Canada.

Footnotes

2023 Economic Profile of the BC Salmon Fishery, key metrics by BC salmon fishing area
Long text version

2023 Economic profile of the BC salmon fishery

Key metrics by BC salmon fishing area

BC salmon seine

Area A

Area B

BC salmon gillnet

Area C

Area D

Area E

BC salmon troll

Area F

Area G

Area H

2023 Catch by species and gear type (in kilograms)

Chinook

Chum

Coho

Pink

Sockeye

Chum and Pink are mainly caught by seine, and Sockeye are mainly caught by gillnet and seine.

Chinook and Coho are mainly caught by troll.

Salmon licence values

Salmon licence values declined steadily from 2005 to 2010, reflecting poor returns to the fleets.

Rebuilding plans continue to be developed with various measures, such as: time-area closures, specific gear requirements, and operational changes to protect vulnerable fish stocks. Broad Chinook measures have been in place since 2019, and longer-term commercial fishery closures began with the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI).

Sockeye was the most landed species during the 2022 bump year, followed by Pink, Chinook, Chum, and Coho.

Since 2018, annual Chinook closures continue to support Southern Resident Killer Whale recovery.

Footnotes:

2023 Economic Profile of the BC Salmon Fishery, recreational fishery
Long text version

2023 Economic profile of the BC salmon fishery

Economic profile of the salmon recreational fishery

Salmon tidal and freshwater recreational fishing contributes $241M (GDP) to the provincial economy, with a total employment and income contribution of 2,448 and $162M, respectively.

In tidal waters, 81% of licence holders purchase salmon stamps compared to 21% in freshwater.

Tidal water

In BC tidal waters, salmon are the primary target with Chinook as the most targeted species.

In 2023, 156K recreational fishers fished for salmon, with salmon accounting for 56% of the total fishing days and contributing $369M in total tidal recreational expenditures (or 61% of total expenditures).

In both tidal and freshwaters, it is required to purchase a salmon stamp to retain salmon.

Chinook were the most targeted tidal salmon species, representing 54% ($200M) of all salmon expenditures.

Tidal recreational salmon pieces caught by regions

West Coast Vancouver Island

Strait of Georgia

North Coast

Johnstone Strait

Haida Gwaii

Central Coast

Barkley Sound

Freshwater

In BC freshwaters, 48K recreational fishers fished for salmon spending 11% of total fishing days in 2023 targeting salmon, contributing $65M in expenditures (or 12% of total expenditures).

Coho were the most targeted salmon species, representing 38% ($25M) of all salmon expenditures.

Salmon fishing in BC freshwater is highly concentrated, with 91% of fishing occurring in the Lower Mainland, Skeena, and Vancouver Island.

The top three water bodies for salmon fishing (Vedder River, Skeena, and Campbell River) represent 30% of province-wide freshwater salmon fishing in 2023 and accounting for $21.7M in expenditures.

Footnotes

Data

The commercial data and the recreational data that informed this work can be downloaded here.

Salmon (BC) fishery
(CSV, 1 KB)

Tidal water recreational data
(CSV, 6.57 MB)

Freshwater recreational data
(CSV, 8.67 MB)

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