Industry Overview

All About Canada's Fish and Seafood Industry

...at a glance

• Surrounded by the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and home to the Great Lakes, Canada is one of the foremost maritime nations on the planet, boasting the world's longest coastline (244,000 km). Stretched out, it would circle the equator more than six times and represents 25 per cent of all the coastline in the world.
• With more than 755,000 square kilometres of fresh water, Canada has 16 per cent of the world's area of fresh water and four of the 14 largest lakes in the world.
• Canada has one of the world's most valuable commercial fishing industries, worth more than $5 billion* a year and providing more than 130,000 jobs to Canadians. The capture fishing industry operates in three broad regions (Atlantic, Pacific and freshwater). Canada's growing aquaculture industry is also active across these three regions.
• Despite a decade of challenge and adjustment through the 1990s, the commercial fisheries remain the mainstay for the economy of approximately 1,500 communities in rural and coastal Canada. There are approximately 58,400 registered commercial fishers in Canada who land more than one million tonnes of marine and freshwater fish and seafood annually, with a landed value of more than $2 billion.
• In total, the capture fishery accounts for 76 per cent of total fish and seafood production in Canada. Together, lobster, crab and shrimp comprise 67 per cent of the landed value of all fish and shellfish harvested in Canada. The Atlantic fishery accounts for approximately 80 per cent of total landings. Value leaders for the past number of years have been lobster, crab, shrimp and scallops. The Pacific fishery accounts for roughly 16 per cent of total landings. Value leaders there are salmon, clams, crabs, and herring roe. The freshwater fishery accounts for 4 per cent of total Canadian landings. Species landed include pickerel, yellow perch, whitefish, northern pike and lake trout.
• A relatively new industry, Canada's aquaculture sector has grown at an annual rate of 20 per cent from 1986 through 2004. Aquaculture is found in every province and territory of Canada. Key products are farmed salmon (Atlantic, coho and chinook), trout, steelhead, Arctic char, blue mussels, oysters and manila clams. New species are being developed with halibut and cod among the priorities. In 2004, farm-gate receipts were $669 million on 145,000 of product.
• Canada is now the world's fifth-largest exporter of fish and seafood products, with exports to more than 130 countries. Canada's fish and seafood exports reached an all-time high of $4.7 billion in 2002, although values declined to $4.3 billion in 2005 due to a weakened US dollar. Canada exports an estimated 85 per cent, by value, of its fish and seafood production. The United States is Canada's largest export market (representing roughly 63 per cent of seafood trade) followed by Japan (11 per cent) and the European Union (9.9 per cent). Canada's fish and seafood imports have stayed at around $2 billion, resulting in significant annual trade surpluses.

...in detail

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca) is the federal government department that regulates and manages the Canadian fishery. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is responsible for marketing and trade development.
• The restructuring that took place in Canadian plants during the 1990s in response to downturns in the Atlantic groundfish and Pacific salmon fisheries has made the industry more competitive. In addition, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has worked to secure the future of Canada's wild fisheries by initiating conservative management practices that focus on sustainable development and responsible fishing.
• Canada has one of the world's most respected fish inspection and control systems. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) (www.inspection.gc.ca) sets the policies, requirements and inspection standards for fish products, federally registered fish and seafood processing establishments, importers, fishing vessels, and equipment used for handling, transporting and storing fish. All establishments which process fish and seafood for export or inter-provincial trade must be federally registered and must develop and implement a HACCP-based Quality Management Program (QMP) plan. A processing establishment's QMP plan outlines the controls implemented by the fish processor to ensure that all fish products are processed under sanitary conditions, and that the resulting products are safe and meet all regulatory requirements. Canada's fish-inspection and control system contributes to Canada's worldwide reputation for safe, wholesome fish and seafood products.
• The export certification program of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency provides exporters with official documentation that Canadian fish and seafood products sold on the international market will be acceptable to importing countries. Buyers can be assured that seafood from Canada will continue to meet the increasingly rigorous safety and wholesomeness standards required by the world's major seafood markets.

*All values expressed in Canadian dollars.

If you have questions about the Canadian fishing industry or its products, please visit:

www.seafoodcanada.gc.ca