Truong was one of the boat people who fled Vietnam in 1975, and he ended up in Campbell River, BC. He took up fishing when he arrived, and has now been prawning for over 30 years. His sons and daughter have prawned alongside him over the last decade.

Western Sun Spot prawns Trapping Central coast of BC

Danny, a second generation fisherman, often fishes in coordination with his son, Dean.

About Time I Salmon Gillnetting North & Central Coast of BC

Dean, a third generation fisherman, fishes salmon runs all along the BC coast. He has been fishing since he was a kid and still fishes alongside his father, Danny and his gillnetter.

Old Style Salmon Gillnetting Most areas of BC Coast

Natasha is a multi-generation cisaa?th (Tseshaht) First Nation fisher who fishes salmon on her new, custom-built aluminum boat in Alberni Inlet/Somass River with her daughers aged 20 and 9. She is a Tseshaht First Nation Councillor holding the economic development portfolio and is also attending the SFU Indigenous Business Leadership Executive MBA.

Salmon Gillnet West coast of Vancouver Island

Willard is a multi-generation cisaa?th (Tseshaht) First Nation fisher, who grew up fishing with his dad and sister, Natasha. He now also fishes alongside his kids!

Salmon Gillnetting West coast of Vancouver Island

Bruce has been fishing for over 30 years. His wife, Pilar, and his young son, Rex, join him on some of their trips. Bruce and his brother Steve grew up in a lighthouse on the BC coast and are the first fishermen in their family. Read the Martinelli's stories from the sea <a href="https://skipperotto.com/fishing-family-story-t-rex/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link-card="true">in our blog</a>!

Tantrum No. 1 Tuna & lingcod Trolling Off the coasts of Vancouver Island, BC & Oregon/Washington

Dafne’s approach to kelp harvesting is well-researched and thoughtful. She harvests her product by hand and chooses to collect less than 10% of kelp beds in order to leave a healthy and sustainable marine canopy. After harvest, the product is gently dried to maintain the most nutrients.

Kelp Harvested on shore Haida Gwaii

Les, a multi-generation cisaa?th (Tseshaht) First Nation fisher, learned to fish from his dad. He now fishes with his two sons and grandson.

Salmon Gillnetting West coast of Vancouver Island, BC

Richie is a first generation fisher. Having worked on boats as mechanic in his early life, he decided to take the plunge and pursue fishing as a career. That was 40 years ago -- he's been fishing ever since!

Surf Isle Halibut & sablefish Bottom longline North of Haida Gwaii

Paul is the founder of Salt Spring Island Mussels. Paul grew his mussel farm from just a tiny operation to now supplying restaurants across Canada, all while staying true to the values of community, environmental conservation, and living wages that we hold so dear. He credits his amazing and talented team for all this success and is very forthcoming about all the trials and tribulations of getting to where they are now.

Mussels Grown and harvested Salt Spring Island & Desolation Sound, BC

Darryl Siusangnark is a professional harvester who makes his living off the land around Naujaat in Nunavut, and is a key provider of fish for his community, supplying food for elders, food-insecure households, family, friends, community feasts, and commercial sales. He started fishing with his father in early childhood and has been fishing on his own since he was 18. The way he fishes is a bit different from our other fishermen. Along with other Inuit fishers in his community, Darryl braves frigid weather conditions and travels across the wintry tundra by snowmobile to catch fish from below the ice of frozen lakes using an auger and gillnets. Check out Darryl's story <a href="https://skipperotto.com/introducing-arctic-char/">in our blog</a>.

Snowmobile Arctic char Gillnet and auger Lake Itirjuk, Nunavut

Simon Qamanirq is a professional harvester who makes his living off the land around Igloolik in Nunavut. He is a very generous provider of fish for his community, supplying food for elders, family, friends and both the Igloolik Hunters and Trappers Association and the Arctic Bay Hunters and Trappers Association for community distribution. He started fishing with his ittug (grandfather) when he was a young boy. Travelling up to 8 hours by snowmobile from Igloolik across the open (frozen) Arctic Ocean he enjoys mentoring youth from Igloolik and teaching them to catch fish from below the ice of Igalugasugvik lake.

Snowmobile Arctic char Gillnet and auger Lake Igalugasugvik, Nunavut

Francis is the first in his family to fish, and has kept at it for over 10 years now. He fishes aboard his 43' troller on the north coast of Vancouver Island.

Ta-Nika Salmon Trolling North coast of Haida Gwaii

Matt has been prawning and crabbing for the last 3 years in the family business led by his stepdad, Randy Kitagawa. This is his first season captaining the Robson Byte!

Robson Byte Spot prawns & Dungeness crab Trapping Sunshine Coast

Cary is a 4th generation fisher on both sides of his family. His brother and cousins all currently work alongside him on the boat depending on the season. He is based out of Sointula, BC which is where his family has lived and worked for generations. Cary started fishing with his dad when he was 11 but had been on trips since he was small.

Island Sun Hake & rockfish Mid-water trawling Off the west coast of Vancouver Island