Monday October 20, 2025
CHEK News —
Concern is running high in communities off southwest Vancouver Island as they face possible closures to the salmon fishing that generates millions of dollars in revenue for their region.
“For them to shut a fishery down when we are getting such a good dollar per pound on a sustainable fishery makes absolutely no sense,” said Tristan McMillan, a Sooke fishing charter operator.
Worried fishermen packed a Cowichan town hall Sunday at Duncan Meadows Golf Course, pleading for help from their MP Jeff Kibble.
It’s going to effectively take away their livelihood, their way of living, their way to feed themselves and the economic impact is huge,” Kibble told CHEK News on Sunday.
According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, closures are being considered for recreational and commercial salmon fishing off B.C.’s South Coast to address threats to Southern Resident Killer Whales.
But fishermen at the town hall argued they are seeing some of the biggest fishing runs of their careers right now, and urged officials to look at the real number of salmon that are returning to the coast.
“There’s more fish out there than there has ever been before,” said Kibble.
“The last two years, they’ve been not just particularly healthy, they’ve been at record levels. So the salmon are there, they have been managing the stocks. Let’s make decisions that protect everybody’s rights.”
Thomas Sewid, President of Pacific Balance Marine Management, insisted a Fisheries and Oceans-approved harvest of seals and sea lions in the area is the answer to protecting salmon.
According to Sewid, using harvested seals, meat and hides could be a thriving industry in coastal B.C.
“Having a sustainable harvest of seals and sealions will create over 4,000 jobs across British Columbia,” he said.
The idea garnered a lot of support and applause from fishermen at Sunday’s town hall.
“You have to regulate the predators and the predators in the ocean are seals,” said Marc Hubbard, a recreational fisherman in Sooke.
Kibble said he plans to take their concerns and petition to keep the fishery open to Ottawa.
A final decision on the south coast’s salmon fishery is expected in the months to come.