Seafood Processing

Location Map of Fish Processing Plants in B.C. (jpg)

• Wild Salmon
• Herring
• Groundfish
• Wild Shellfish

2003 Quick Facts  ( 2003 2002 2001 2000 )

• 202 companies
• 223 facilities
• 5,700 direct jobs

• Seafood processing occurs at 223 facilities located throughout the province.

• The wholesale value of B.C.'s seafood products was worth more than $1.1 billion in 2003.

• Seafood is B.C.’s number one food export as almost 71 per cent of our fish and seafood products are shipped out of the country.

• B.C. seafood processors exported 171,744 tonnes of fish and seafood products to 56 countries with a total export value of $997 million.

• More than 80 per cent of all exports are destined for the US and Japan.

• Seafood products derived from species other than salmon and herring are becoming increasingly important.

• In addition to the fish obtained from B.C. commercial fisheries and aquaculture operations, fish processors source sockeye and pink salmon, Atlantic salmon, halibut, herring and trout from outside of the province and Canada for value-added processing.

• Canned salmon production in B.C. topped 552,707 cases in 2003 worth $60 million wholesale. 

• New fisheries such as squid, sardines and tanner crab, along with added-value processing in existing fisheries such as spiny dogfish, arrowtooth flounder, sea cucumbers, red sea urchins, and pink and chum salmon have presented valuable opportunities.

Links

• British Columbia Canned Salmon Pack Bulletins

• MAL Licensing Statistics - Commercial Seafood Activities

• Coastal Resource Information Management System  (internet based interactive map for viewing coastal and marine data)

• BC Seafood Online

• Licence Applications and Information

Updated: October 28, 2004