There is probably no more iconic British Columbia experience than to dig into a Salmon sandwich, the bounty from the North Pacific, fixing up the best that BC has to offer on your favourite loaf of bread or bun.
Yet as you prepare your feast, maybe take a look at the can of salmon your lunch has come from, for it tells a very current story of the state of the British Columbia fishery.
The canning lines for the Canfisco plant and BC Packers before it are long gone from the George Hills Way plant on the east side of Prince Rupert, but for those picking up a can of salmon at their local grocery store, the migration pattern of that can of salmon makes for a fascinating tour ... one which seemingly crosses the Pacific and back.
Globalization in the commercial fishing industry now appears to make for quite the journey for the Wild Red Pacific Salmon, with the product from British Columbia and Alaksan waters now apparently re-routed to Thailand for processing and then returning to Canada, perhaps in one of the many containers that pass through the DP World Fairview Terminal every day.
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| It's quite the journey for a BC or Alaskan caught salmon these days with canned salmon from Thailand now featured on locals store shelves |
The migration of the cans of salmon calls home the main thrust of an ongoing campaign from UFAWU-UNIFOR that of seeking adjacency for the fishing stocks of British Columbia.
A concept that would see that the fish that is landed in Canadian waters, a resource which would be processed in the communities which are found in the vicinity of those fishing grounds.
Newly elected Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach, raised the theme of the BC Fishery in the House of Commons in January, with the Green Party's Elizabeth May taking up the topic in February.
Yet, despite those calls for attention for the Federal Government, so far the issues of Northwest British Columbia seemingly remain off the radar.
The area not even yet a destination point for Minister Bernadette Jordan, the latest in a long line of Federal Fisheries Ministers to be handed over the fishery file, none of whom in recent years even bothered to come to this part of the province to explore the situation which has been at a crisis point for the industry and its workers for years.
Joy Thorkelson the Former Prince Rupert City Councillor and long time Labour leader in the fishing industry provided the stark snapshot of the state of the industry in Prince Rupert last fall.
Speaking at a City Council session last October, Ms. Thorkelson noted how the 2019 season had "been a disaster and how there had been no help from the politicians"
Something it seems that resonates as loud five months later as it did then, with little to no indication from Ottawa that there is any action to be taken to help address the problems.
The time is again at hand, or at least should be, for all of the political leadership of the region, including the MP, MLA and members of City Council to put a collective push towards getting some attention for the issues of the fishery.
Working together to make the case that the Federal Minister needs to come to Prince Rupert to learn first hand of the state of the industry.
Perhaps UFAWU should pick up a case of the Thailand processed fish from a local store and forward it to the Minister, that to highlight the bizarre path that British Columbia salmon now takes by the time a Canadian resident can put together lunch.
You can learn more about the UFAWU-UNIFOR efforts from their Facebook page.
For more notes on the fishing industry of the North Coast see our archive page here.
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