National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The West Coast’s commercial salmon fleet is clearly in the midst of transformative change.
Ottawa has shuttered approximately 60 per cent of B.C.’s commercial fisheries since 2021 and last month launched a licence buyback program to lure fish harvesters to exit the industry to protect plummeting salmon stocks.
Continue reading Who gets to fish for B.C. salmon in the future?Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The federal government released details of long-anticipated COVID-19 relief aid for fish harvesters Wednesday.
But critics argue that while the government was slow to deliver the programs, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) expects commercial fish harvesters to apply quickly, and right in the middle of fishing season. The relief programs may also shut out some new fishers carrying heavy debt, they say.
Continue reading COVID-19 Relief Aid For Fish HarvestersCanada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wes Erikson has spent his entire life working the waters of B.C.’s west coast, working gruelling hours on deck in some of the worst kinds of weather.
A fourth-generation commercial fisherman, Erikson started fishing on his father’s vessel at the age of five, graduating to paid deckhand by age eight. By 19, he’d purchased his first boat — and its associated halibut licence.
Continue reading BC’s Fishing Industry Needs A Lifeline
