April 26, 2021 update: Thanks to your amazing outpouring of support, our fight to keep the DFO from banning frozen-at-sea spot prawns has reached the next stage — and now we need your help again!
We received over 4,000 signatures on our first petition that we sent you in March, and we got the attention of many MPs who brought up the issue in question period. And while the DFO has agreed to allow the tubbing of spot prawn tails to happen THIS season, the issue is far from over. Now we need the House to debate the issue and for the Minister to commit to ensuring a fair process going forward, not just for the Minister to kick the issue down the road until next season. A tool to help make this happen: our House of Commons petition.
MP Rachel Blaney has sponsored our House of Commons petition and for every 500 e-signatures (or 25 signatures on paper – we’ll be collecting these at our Fisherman’s Wharf pick-ups), Ms. Blaney will be able to raise this issue in the House of Commons, requiring the government to table a response. The more signatures we get, the more she will be able to bring attention to this issue, and fight for more transparency from the DFO.
Go to the House of Commons Petition here and be sure to click the confirmation link in your email afterwards. And please, share with friends and family who care about the future of our local spot prawn industry! Thank you!
March 17, 2021 update: We (and more importantly, our fishing families) have been so overwhelmed by the support our members have shown by signing our petition and calling their MPs! The politicians are paying attention, but our work isn’t over just yet. Here is an update from Sonia:
As you’ve probably heard, our much-loved BC spot prawn industry is under threat. A recent decision by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) threatens British Columbia’s $45 million commercial prawn industry and with it, the livelihoods of hundreds of families throughout the province. With no consultation or notice and just a few short months before the beginning of the 2021 spot prawn season, the DFO has made the sale of frozen-at-sea spot prawns illegal, effectively stopping the sale of all frozen spot-prawns to Canadian markets.
The wide-spread consequences of the spot prawn ruling include:
The inability of BC spot prawn harvesters to make a living. Without global markets due to the pandemic nor the ability to sell prawns domestically, there is no financial sense in harvesting spot prawns. Over 600 families will have their livelihoods destroyed by this decision.
Despite the growing demand for local food, Canadians will be unable to purchase and eat Canadian prawns.
Local chefs and restauranteurs who are already struggling during the pandemic will be unable to offer spot prawns that are in high demand from their customers.
Fishmongers, grocery stores, CSFs (Community Supported Fisheries) and other buyers will be hard hit by the loss of this high-demand product.
The impact will ripple through fishing communities up and down the west coast that have invested heavily and depend intensely on the industry.
There is no reason for this sudden re-interpretation of a fisheries regulation.
So why is the DFO making this decision now? Recently, the DFO reinterpreted a regulation that states that all catches must be “readily available” for inspection. They suddenly claim that prawns frozen in seawater are not “readily available” for inspection. Previously, DFO inspectors measured spot prawns as they were being harvested, and had not been encountering significant violations of catch guidelines to warrant this change of policy. According to James Lawson, President of the United Fisherman and Allied Workers Union and harvester from Heiltsuk First Nation, the sudden change of decision is extra baffling because thawing a tub of frozen prawns takes only 5 minutes, something legal advisors have said meets the definition of “readily available”.“Every boat out there has a deck hose. Almost every boat has a hot water kettle,” he said. “The answer is that simple.”
Across the industry, many other seafood products are processed and frozen at sea including solid blocks that are less “readily available” for inspection than frozen spot prawns.
Chaos for an already pandemic-stricken industry
This ruling adds unsurmountable challenges to an already challenged industry. Thrown into chaos by the pandemic, the global export markets for spot prawns all but disappeared overnight and the price paid to harvesters in 2020 plummeted by over 50% from the previous year. Harvesters then turned to and invested heavily in domestic and direct-to-consumer sales of flash-frozen spot prawns to help save their seasons and cover their enormous debts. The stability of domestic sales was a game-changer across the industry. This ruling throws all that into peril.
“The situation is extremely frustrating,” says Lawson. “For us multi-species fishermen, spot prawn harvest is by far our most premium product accounting for half of my gross earnings last year. If the federal government prohibits me from freezing prawns, the reality is I will lose my business. It makes no sense.”
A blow for local food systems
The DFO’s decision also undermines years of hard work to create fair local markets and to make Canadian seafood available to Canadians. Without access to frozen spot prawns, it will be challenging for Canadians to purchase spot prawns this year.
“Canadians want access to Canadian food. If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, it’s that our dependence on imported products presents a threat to our food security. Our federal and provincial governments have been working hard to help support small-scale food producers, especially during these uncertain times. Taking away harvesters’ right to sell prawns to Canadian consumers undermines all the progress we’ve made toward robust, secure and healthy local food systems,” notes Sonia Strobel, CEO of Skipper Otto Community Supported Fishery who works with three BC harvesters to supply prawns for their members.
Canadian chefs and restaurateurs will also feel the impact of this decision. “For the past two decades, chefs have passionately had the backs of harvesters and consumers to successfully build the domestic spot pawn industry and advocate for supporting our local food friends and partners,” remarks Ned Bell, chef/partner at the Naramata Inn and founder of Chefs for Oceans. “Pulling the rug out on harvesters will be leaving holes on the menus of restaurants throughout the country. For everyone’s sake – chefs, restaurants, consumers, harvesters, communities and our environment, we sincerely hope that this decision will be reconsidered.”
How can you help save spot prawn season?
Skipper Otto Community Supported Fishery was founded to effect social change in the fishing industry with the help of our members and our broader community who share our vision for a better world. We would be nowhere without your support over the past 12 years, and we hope you’ll take a moment to stand up for a cause that is so near and dear to our community. Please help us garner public support for reversing this challenging and senseless decision!
Call your local Member of Parliament and tell them you won’t stand for this damaging decision or any sudden decision made without consultation.
Tell others how this important issue will affect us all and ask them to sign the petition and call their MP.
Share this story with any media contacts you may have.
The spot prawn season just a couple of months away, so there’s no time to waste. Every day that goes by, fishing families are forced to make tough decisions about whether to invest in their spot prawn season or not. Before you know it, it will be too late to save the season.
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
$39-$44/lb
Sablefish fillets
$27-$30/lb
Lingcod fillets
$22-$27/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
$25-$31/lb
Sliced cold smoked albacore tuna
$11-$12 per 100g package
Canned albacore tuna
$9-$12 per can
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.
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
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.
