2016: British Columbia Seafood at a glance

British Columbia’s seafood sector comprises primary production from commercial fishing and aquaculture. Seafood does not include post-vessel or post-farm processing.

B.C. is one of the largest producers of farmed Atlantic salmon in the world.

B.C. leads the nation in sales of farmed and wild salmon, halibut, rockfish, farmed oysters, tuna, hake and sea urchins.

Sales: $1.2 billion

Harvest: 291,600 tonnes

GDP: $415 million

Share of Provincial Total GDP: 0.2%

Exports: $1.3 billion

Total sales of primary seafood production in B.C. were $1.17 billion in landed and farm-gate value from about 100 species – an increase of 31.2 per cent above 2015.

Close to 2,400 vessels harvested 22.2 per cent more wild fish, shellfish and marine plants in 2016 than in 2015.

The 188,000-tonne commercial fishery harvest generated a total landed value of $392.8 million – up 2.3 per cent over 2015.

In 2016, farmed fish, shellfish and marine plants were produced on 683 aquaculture operations.

The total aquaculture harvest of 103,600 tonnes was down 1.5 per cent from the previous year while the farm-gate value rose 52.9 per cent to $776.8 million.

The top 10 seafood commodities in terms of sales were farmed Atlantic salmon, halibut, crabs, wild geoduck clams, wild chum salmon, farmed Pacific salmon, rockfish, wild sablefish, wild chinook salmon and herring.

Total estimated GDP for seafood amounted to $415 million and accounted for 0.2 per cent of B.C.’s total GDP.