The commercial fishing industry in British Columbia exists in most of the water bodies in the province, but especially rivers, such as the Fraser River. These rivers are rich in salmon and other types of freshwater fish. Much more of the commercial fishing occurs in the ocean, along the coastline and around islands such as the Vancouver Island. Here is a map of commercial finfish locations in British Columbia:
Various aquaculture companies also have many locations on land and alongside rivers and the ocean. These include land based finfish hatcheries, marine finfish farms, freshwater lake finfish farms, land based marine farms, multi-trophic integrated fish farms as well as finfish processors. Here is a map of cultured finfish tenures and processors in British Columbia:
Shellfish tenures, processors, hatcheries, and research facilities also exist in British Columbia. Many of the shellfish tenures are grouped in inlets along the coast of British Columbia in Sechelt, Nelson Island, Vancouver Island, Redona Island, Cortes Island, Quadra Island and Bliss Landing. However, most of the shellfish processors are in the Vancouver area. Here is a map of cultured shellfish tenures and processors in British Columbia:
Overall, this resource is found most abundantly along British Columbia’s coastline, and enters two ecozones: The Pacific Maritime and the Pacific (Marine). The Pacific Marine ecozone begins on British Columbia’s coast and stretches out into the Pacific Ocean. This ecozone has a mild climate all year round, with summer temperatures averaging at around 20ºC, and winter temperatures rarely dropping below 0ºC. The coast has the mildest climate in all of British Columbia, which could provide a reason for the abundance of aquatic life. The mild climate is caused by protection by the Arctic Peninsula from the cold Arctic waters. The rivers and fjords of the west coast in British Columbia bring nutrients to the waters, and an upwelling that exists near the southern end of the Vancouver Island supplies all the needed nutrients for a thriving diversity of aquatic creatures. Plants in this location include macrocystis (giant kelp), coral reefs, and various seaweeds. In coastal salt marshes, eelgrass can be found commonly. The waters off British Columbia’s coast are home to over 3800 types of invertebrates as well as some of the largest vertebrates in the world. Different aquatic mammals that live here include sea otter, northern fur seal, northern sea lion, longsnout dolphin, right whale dolphin, pacific white-sided dolphin, pacific harbor porpoise, Dall's porpoise, orca, sperm whale, gray whale, fin whale, minke whale, blue whale, blue whale, and pacific right whale. A variety of types of aquatic birds (shorebirds and seabirds) also inhabit the area, including rhinoceros auklet, Brandt's cormorants, and a number of gulls, puffins, petrels, murres, and more. Obviously, fish are extremely abundant along the west coast. Some of the types of fish found in British Columbia are coastrange sculpin, pacific herring, halibut, steelhead, dolly varden. Some select species of marine fish travel to freshwater to spawn, including pacific lamprey, river lamprey, green sturgeon, white sturgeon, pink salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon, and sockeye salmon. There are also many crustacean species which live along the province’s coastline.
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The second ecozone which is home to British Columbia’s aquatic life is the Pacific Maritime. This ecozone lies along the province’s coast, and runs up to its border with Alaska. The climate of British Columbia’s coast is full of wet weather, and is extremely altered by the Pacific Ocean. Summers are cool, at an average of 13ºC, and winters are quite mild, averaging at -1.5ºC. The mountains along the coast of British Columbia block the precipitation that clouds would carry to the interior, so it is common for this ecozone to receive over 4000 mm worth of precipitation in the north. Some areas in the south receive far less, though, with the Gulf Islands obtaining only 600 mm of precipitation. The geography and geology of this ecozone includes the tall Coastal Mountains that rise out of fjords and channels on the coast, with glaciers being found at high elevations. Though some of these young mountains are not very tall, they are very rugged as on the Queen Charlotte Islands and the Vancouver Island. This area of British Columbia belongs to the “Ring of Fire”, however, not many volcanoes exist here. Instead, the magma near the surface releases its heat through hot springs. Flora and fauna are very abundant and diverse in this ecozone. The climate leads to extremely tall and old trees that exist primarily in temperate rain forests at lower alititudes. On higher grounds, stunted trees are common, and there are no trees above the treeline. The extreme diversity of trees and plants include western red cedar, yellow cedar, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, western yew, coast Douglas fir, amabilis fir, grand fir, coast redwood, Sitka spruce, red alder, lodgepole pine, western white pine , pacific dogwood, salal, Oregon grape, arbutus, sword fern, skunk cabbage, salmonberry, devil’s club, western bleeding heart, red huckleberry, old man’s beard, red elderberry and calypso orchid. Many different types of mammals live here, including large herbivores such as deer, elk, moose, mountain goat and caribou, while large carnivores include bears, wolves and cougars. Smaller herbivores like beavers, marmots, chipmunks and snowshoe hares also inhabit this ecozone. Small carnivores consist of wolverine, mink, otter, raccoon, and fox among others. Sea mammals include different types of seals, sea lions and whales. Birds are also commonly found in this area. They include birds of prey, shorebirds, seabirds, waterfowl, songbirds and birds of the forest. The wet and mild temperatures allow many amphibians to grow, and this ecozone is home to many different types of frogs, snakes, salamanders and turtles. Fish that inhabit the ocean and rivers surrounding the area are similar to those as in the Pacific Marine ecozone: a variety of types of salmon, smelt, sturgeon, lamprey, trout, herring and halibut. Molluscs include clams and mussels such as the western-river pearl mussel and the arctic-alpine fingernail clam. Insects thrive in the area, with many species such as red turpentine beetle, European earwig, spring azure, American copper, monarch butterfly, mourning cloak, and migratory grasshopper.
About 2 and a half million people inhabit the west coast of British Columbia, and the population continues to grow rapidly. However, it is the coastal communities that interact the most with the seafood industry. These communities obviously enjoy fresh seafood, as well as plenty of outdoor activities. However, they are sometimes distanced from large cities, so they can lack many amenities such as universities, a variety of stores and schools, large hospitals etc.