We met Ivan by chance when he decided to bring his boat over to Vancouver from Powell River to try to sell some of his frozen-at-sea spot prawns at the False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf. Naturally, when we saw him set up his sign, we just had to go meet him and find out if he would be a good fit for our CSF. And we’re excited to report he’s just our type of fisherman! Read on for our delightful, personal interview with Ivan and, when you see him in Vancouver, welcome him to our CSF!
Q: How long have you been fishing?
A: I have about 40 fishing seasons under my belt. My brother-in-law got me into fishing when I became his deckhand fishing in the Fraser when I was 12 years old. I got a job halibut fishing when I got out of high school and stayed with it. Longline halibut (fished in Alaska) and black cod, shook herring, and trolled tuna off Los Angeles.
In the lean 80s, I picked up a diploma in Natural Gas and Oil Engineering from BCIT and worked for Shell in Alberta. But I had to come home and fish halibut on my holidays to keep up with bills. After 2 years I had enough (that was 1987) came back to fishing, and, having tried another kind of life, knew that fishing was what I was cut out for. I moved back to the coast, met Loretta, got my own little boat, quit the big boats, and we started from there and never looked back.
Shortly thereafter, I mortgaged the house and cashed in my RRSPs to build [our boat] the Raven Bay, which featured a few firsts for the prawns fishery – an Arneson Surface Piercing Drive, one of the first high speed prawn boats and recirculating spray brine system to keep the weight down while keeping the prawns live. These inovations have become quite widely adopted in the fishery since. I like innovating as much as I like fishing.
Q: What do you fish for?
A: My wife and I gillnetted salmon together for 4 years but when she decided she couldn’t leave the kids for that long, we sold the licence and concentrated on prawns. We sold prawns off the back of a pick-up, then out of a cube van and then moved to selling prawns at home in 2011 when we built a shop right in the back yard. We live on the ocean 365 days/year.
Q: Where do you fish?
A: I have branched out into fishing anywhere within traveling distance of Vancouver Island where the fishing is best. It’s the nature of our competitive, short [spot prawn] fishery. West Coast, Mainland Inlets, Howe Sound, Strait of Georgia – I have fished them all and am not afraid of trying new areas.
Q: Who in your family is involved in the fishing business?
A: My step daughter, Jenny, fished several seasons with me and put herself through university doing so. Jenny has a BComm in marketing. Another deckhand also paid for his mechanical engineering degree on the back deck. Other deckhands have also put themselves through school or moved on to full-time careers in other industries, but their fishing experience has taught them some life lessons that I like to think will serve them well for the rest of their lives.
Jenny was what we call a puker, got seasick real bad, but worked her way through it and when she was done, was top dog on the boat. We were running 500 traps at that time, and she was the one who called the shots on the back deck. Jenny got just about every job she was ever interviewed for when they found out she had actually been a West Coast Fisherman. It was very interesting to prospective employers. Other deckhands had the same experience.
Today, my wife and I work the store, and Jenny helps us with marketing.
Q: Why are you are interested in being a part of our CSF?
A: Like I said, I like innovating as much as I like fishing. CSFs are innovative. I feel fishemen have an obligation to supply their product to the public. Afterall, we depend on public support to have access to the resource. Secondly, most people can’t go and catch their own fish and are dependant upon commercial fishing to enjoy the variety of seafoods Canada is lucky enough to possess. So being a fisherman for me is a position of trust. I am fortunate enough to hold a fishing licence, but that comes with some public responsibility to provide fish also. 90% of our seafood is exported before the public even has an opportunity to buy it. That doesn’t sit well with me. Powell River customers are, by and large, seafood experts because they can catch their own fish right in front of town. Still, they support my business because they value the quality, the convenience and, I suppose, they value my family’s ability to make a living in our isolated community. Making my fish available to them is my side of the bargain.
2023 prices are shown here. Prices do fluctuate each year. Higher price ranges reflect the inclusion of shipping costs for locations outside of Metro Vancouver.
Arctic Char is caught between the months of November and March. We usually carry it from December onwards and often sell out by late spring or early summer.
PRODUCT
SEASON
Artic Char
NOV-MAR
PRODUCT
PRICE
Artic Char portion
$27 – 32 per lb
Shellfish
Our wild, pink and spiny scallops are individually frozen and packed into 2lb packages. They can be cooked from frozen in one of your favourite clam or mussel recipes. We also offer cans of smoked scallops. In Vancouver, we offer live options at various False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf pick-ups during the year. Mussels are a special treat and one we offer every week during their season, while live Dungeness crab and beach oysters are usually available a few times a year.
2023 prices are shown here. Prices do fluctuate each year. The higher price ranges reflect the inclusion of shipping costs for locations outside of Metro Vancouver.
Scallops are caught between Nov-Feb each year but we aim to keep them in stock year round. Live Mussels are available at weekly pick-ups between July-March. Live Dungeness Crab is available at on 2-3 occasions only between Aug-March. Live beach oysters are available on 2-3 occasions only between Nov-March.
PRODUCT
SEASON
Scallops
JAN-FEB
Oysters
JAN-FEB
Mussels
JUN-APR
Dungeness Crab
JUL-SEP
PRODUCT
PRICE
Scallops
$24-$29 per 2lb box
Beach Oysters (Fishermen’s Wharf only)
$13.75-$19.50 per dozen
Mussels (Fishermen’s Wharf only)
$8.95/lb
Dungeness crab (Fishermen’s Wharf only)
$20-22 per lb
Salmon
We carried a wide mix of salmon products in the 2023 season. While specific offerings can vary from year to year, we always have lots of salmon to choose from. Our mainstay products are flash-frozen, boneless, skin-on fillets and portions – in sizes between 1lb and ½ lb each. We also carry hot smoked and cold smoked salmon and a variety of canned salmon products too.
2023 prices are shown here. Prices do fluctuate each year. Higher price ranges reflect the inclusion of shipping costs for locations outside of Metro Vancouver.
Salmon is caught between the months of June-October on the BC coast but we aim to keep it in stock year-round.
PRODUCT
SEASON
Sockeye Salmon
JUN JUL
Chinook Salmon
AUG SEP
Coho Salmon
JUL AUG
Chum Salmon
OCT
Pink Salmon
JUL AUG
PRODUCT
PRICE
Sockeye salmon fillets
$24-$27/lb
Chinook salmon fillets
$27-$30/lb
Coho salmon fillets
$26-$29/lb
Pink salmon fillets
$15-$18/lb
Candied pink salmon strips
$17-$19 per 1/2 lb package
Maple sockeye nuggets
$22-$24 per 1/2 lb package
Peppered sockeye salmon
$21-$22 per 1/2 lb package
Sockeye salmon lox
$12-13 per 100g package
Hot smoked sockeye
$20-$22 per 1/2 lb package
Canned salmon
$8-$14 per can
White Fish
Specific offerings can vary from year to year, but our mainstay products are flash-frozen, boneless, skin-on fillets and portions – in sizes that are usually around 1lb each. Lingcod fillets are usually available in both 1lb and ½ lb portion sizes. Lingcod cheeks are in roughly 1lb portion sizes. Halibut and sablefish collars are low cost options for stews and soups. Hake was not available in 2023.
2023 prices are shown here. Prices do fluctuate each year. Higher price ranges reflect the inclusion of shipping costs for locations outside of Metro Vancouver.
Halibut is caught between the months of March-November, lingcod in May, sablefish in the summer and rockfish late spring and summer. We aim to keep halibut, lingcod and rockfish in stock year-round while sablefish can be available mostly in the late summer and fall.
PRODUCT
SEASON
Halibut
MAR-NOV
Sablefish
JUL-SEP
Lingcod
MAY-JULY
Yellowtail Rockfish
JUN-SEP
PRODUCT
PRICE
Halibut fillets
$37-$40/lb
Sablefish fillets
$27-$30/lb
Lingcod fillets
$20-$23/lb
Yellowtail rockfish fillets
$13-$16/lb
Halibut collars
$10-$13/lb
Sablefish collars
$8-$11/lb
Lingcod cheeks
$28-$31/lb
Tuna
Our albacore tuna is flash-frozen at sea to ensure it is sushi-grade. We carry both full and ½ loins which range in weight between a little over 1 lb and a ½ lb. We also offer thin sliced cold smoked tuna lox in 100g packages and three types of canned products – regular, no salt and smoked tuna varieties. Unlike some other tuna species, albacore is a smaller species which is low in mercury which makes it safe to eat more frequently!
2023 prices are shown here. Prices do fluctuate each year. Higher price ranges reflect the inclusion of shipping costs for locations outside of Metro Vancouver.
Albacore tuna is caught between the months of June and September but we aim to keep it in stock year-round.
PRODUCT
SEASON
Albacore tuna
JUL AUG
PRODUCT
PRICE
Albacore tuna loins
$24-$27/lb
Sliced cold smoked albacore tuna
$9-$10 per 100g package
Canned albacore tuna
$7-$9 per can
Prawns
Our wild, flash-frozen spot prawn tails are special – even as spot prawns go. These prawns are caught live, quickly tailed and packed into 6 oz or 1 lb tubs aboard the boat, topped up with sea water, then frozen at sea to capture their just-caught freshness and negate the need for any preservatives. Our tubs of spot prawn tails are easy to thaw in minutes and perfect for your favourite shrimp or prawn recipes.
2023 prices are shown here. Prices do fluctuate each year. Higher price ranges reflect the inclusion of shipping costs for locations outside of Metro Vancouver.