Alan Haig-Brown in his new book Still Fishin’: The B.C. Fishing Industry Revisited, provides many examples of B.C. fishermen doing just fine. It is true that the West Coast’s fishing industry may have fallen on hard times, but Alan Haig-Brown’s book also shows many examples that show pockets of surprising results. Ray Phillips of Pender Harbour supports a generation by fishing halibut and black cod. Albert Radil and his brothers successfully trawl for hake in Queen Charlotte Sound. Seiner John Leslie is taking advantage of the reappearance in B.C. water of the pilchard.
The book states that the Assu brothers of Campbell River still seine salmon in Johnstone Strait where their father used to fish, but they have to work fast in the 12-hour time limit set by the Department of Fisheries. The preservation of the old Finn Slough gillnetter, the Eva in Richmond, and approves of the activities of Randy Reifel, who buys endangered boats and keeps them in working order have been well documented.
The book Still Fishin’ contains interviews with a diverse group of fishermen, from 23-year-old Russell Sanderson to 80-year-old Hutch Hunt. They shed light on the future of commercial fishing and offer practical reasons why it doesn’t have to be.
