The Campbell River seafood processor marked its billion-pound milestone by donating 12,000 cans of salmon to the local food bank, underscoring a long-standing link between seafood production, food security and coastal communities.
By Samantha McLeod
SeaWestNews
Browns Bay Packing Company, a fish processor on Vancouver Island with deep family heritage, has surpassed one billion pounds of salmon processed, a milestone that underscores the resilience and generational continuity of BC’s coastal economy.
While the number matters on its own, Browns Bay, which traces its roots back to the Millerd family that has been processing salmon on BC’s coast since 1913, chose to anchor the moment close to home.
Working with the Wei Wai Kum First Nation, the company donated more than 12,000 cans of pink salmon to the Campbell River Food Bank, using surplus fish from Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) fisheries.
Brown’s Bay Packing was established in its modern form near Campbell River in 1989, building on decades of industry experience to create a facility designed for scale, quality and long-term employment.
Don Millerd remains involved in operations today, alongside part-owners Dave Stover and Stephen Hall.
Together, their leadership helped turn one billion pounds of processed salmon into an estimated three billion high-quality meals delivered across Canada and international markets.
None of it happens without people, the company notes on its website.
From early-morning processing crews and quality teams to maintenance staff and long-serving employees who have built their careers at the plant, the company’s workforce is the constant behind the numbers.
The company has long treated pay as a signal of respect. Since opening in 1989, Brown’s Bay has aimed to pay $7 to $9 above minimum wage, well before labour shortages made compensation a headline issue. “Competitive wages show people their work is valued, and strong staffing follows from that respect,” states the company on its website.
Browns Bay’s billion-pound milestone arrives at a complicated moment for the company and the broader salmon aquaculture sector in B.C., an industry that generates $1.17 billion in annual economic activity, supports 4,560 full-time jobs, and operates within formal partnership frameworks with First Nations.
Declining farmed salmon production in B.C., triggered by federal policies influenced by activist pressure, has forced Brown’s Bay to lay off dozens of long-term employees over the past year. Plans for a new state-of-the-art processing facility in Campbell River, developed with local First Nations, have also been shelved.
The proposed facility would have added scores of jobs and millions of dollars to the local economy. It would have formed part of the sector’s broader vision, contingent on stable government support, to expand production, generate $2.5 billion in annual economic activity, contribute $930 million to GDP, and support 9,000 jobs through agreements with Rights Holder First Nations.
Instead, Brown’s Bay, which has been one of the key contributors to Campbell River’s economy, has shifted to operating intermittently and is currently shut down until next February.
(Main image shows Doug John at the Browns Bay Packing Plant, north of Campbell River – courtesy of Brown’s Bay)