2008 British Columbia Seafood Processing Employment Survey Results

Jobs

A total of 4,176 person years of employment were reported by B.C. seafood processors in 2008. The survey indicated that average employment in the fish processing industry for all categories combined ranged from a low of 3,380 jobs in December to a high of 5,316 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 74 per cent of all fish plants jobs with employee counts ranging from 2,356 in December to a high of 4,195, in August with an annual average of 3,101. Executive and maintenance job counts tended to be more year-round with less fluctuations from month to month. Executive positions made up 20 per cent of the plant workforce ranging from 801 to 856 employees and averaging 823 for the year. Maintenance job counts ranged between 223 and 270 with an average of 251 positions representing 6 per cent of all processing plant jobs.

Regional Data

The lower mainland accounted for 62 per cent of all employment, followed by Southern Vancouver Island contributing 16 per cent, Northern Vancouver Island and North Coast/Prince Rupert at 7 and 8 per cent respectively 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.

Map: Geographic Regions of Fish Processing Facilities in British Columbia

Processing Activity

Of the plants operating in 2008, a total of 142 (81 per cent) operated year-round with the remaining 34 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.

Region	Company Count	Jobs During Seasonal Low	Jobs During Seasonal High	Annual Average Jobs*
Central Coast	3	5	43	25
Interior of BC	4	1	32	9
Lower Mainland	99	2,231	2,883	2,591
North Coast / Prince Rupert	13	145	839	354
Northern Vancouver Island	5	233	349	289
Queen Charlotte Islands	5	7	70	31
Southern Vancouver Island	35	577	764	669
Sunshine Coast	6	16	113	44
West Coast Vancouver Island	6	63	338	164
Total B.C.	176	3,278	4,831	4,176

* 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: November 10, 2011