The commercial capture fisheries in B.C. harvest more than 100 species of fish, shellfish and marine plants from the open waters of the northern Pacific Ocean and throughout the more sheltered straits and sounds of the coast.
More than 6,200 fishers use trap, net, hook and line, trawl, dive and hand picking harvest methods.
2010 Quick Facts
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The 2010 season's harvest was up 3 per
cent from the previous year to 173,800 tonnes.
The Fraser River sockeye salmon return was the largest since 1913 with an estimated run size of 34 million.
Capture fisheries constitute the fourth largest
primary industry in British Columbia after forestry, mining and
agriculture.
In 2010, groundfish species made up 56 per cent of
the commercial harvest by volume and 34 per cent by value.
Harvesting methods include
seine or gillnets, trawling, trolling, trapping, and, to a lesser extent, diving and hand picking.
Many fisheries are now designated as limited entry.
These fisheries provide for year-round harvesting, higher quality
products and increased values to the fishers.
B.C. Capture Fishing Harvest and Value
2010
Species
Landings
('000 tonnes)
Landed Value
($millions)
Wild Salmon
23.1
69.3
Herring
10.1
11.8
Groundfish
97.6
111.9
Wild Shellfish
14.0
108.9
Tuna and
Other
29.0
28.1
Total
173.8
330.0
Updated: November 09, 2011
2001-2010 Data Tables and Graphs
View time series data for the culture and capture fisheries.
