2005 British Columbia Seafood Processing Employment Survey Results

Jobs

A total of 5,501 person years of employment were reported by B.C. seafood processors in 2005.  The survey indicated that average employment in the fish processing industry for all categories combined ranged from a low of 3,923 jobs in January to a high of 7,242 jobs in August. 

Jobs in the seafood processing industry were attributed to one of three categories: executive, processing and maintenance. Seafood processing jobs accounted for 79 per cent of all fish plants jobs with employee counts ranging from 2,846 in January to a high of 6,072 in July with an annual average of 4,343. Executive and maintenance job counts tended to be more year-round with less fluctuations from month to month.  Executive positions made up 17 per cent of the plant workforce with between 880 and 951 employees and averaging 917 for the year. Similarly, maintenance job counts ranged from between 197 and 273 with an average of 241 positions representing 14 per cent of all processing plant jobs.

Regional Data

The lower mainland accounted for 61 per cent of all employment, followed by Southern Vancouver Island contributing 20 per cent, Northern Vancouver Island and North Coast/Prince Rupert at 6 per cent each with the remaining 7 per cent distributed between plants located on West Coast Vancouver Island, Sunshine Coast, the Central Coast and the Interior of B.C.

Processing Activity

Of the plants operating in 2005, a total of 157 (77 per cent) operated year-round with the remaining 47 plants running between 1 and 11 months of the year. Many of these seasonal plants are up –river sport caught fish processors that are in operation during salmon season or cold-storage facilities utilized for temporary storage.

* The survey collects the number of employees on the payroll in any given month. The monthly counts have been totalled and divided by 12 to give an annual average job count. These are not FTE counts as full-time/part-time hours are not part of the survey or calculations.

Updated: September 11, 2009