Tab C6 - Profile of Fish and Seafood Harvesting Industry
- Canadian Commercial Fisheries in 2023: Socio-Economics
- Canadian Sea Fisheries: $3.608B (Landed Value, 2023)
- Top Species by Province
- Lobster ($1.76B) and Crab ($620M) are Canada’s most valuable sea fisheries
- Freshwater Fisheries: $89.575M (Landed Value, 2023)
- Top 10 Ports in Atlantic Canada: represent 20% of Atlantic Canadian landings by value
- Commercial Fisheries Values (2023)
- Commercial Fishing: Quantities and Values
- Indigenous Commercial Communal Fisheries: Percentage of Commercial Fisheries
- Canadian Commercial Fisheries in 2023: Demographics
Canadian Commercial Fisheries in 2023: Socio-Economics
Canadian Sea Fisheries: $3.608B (Landed Value, 2023)
2023 landed value of sea fishery harvests for each province for Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick, and Quebec displaying dominant species harvests.
British Columbia:
- Groundfish 32.6%
- Tuna 1.2%
- Shrimp 16.2%
- Crab 25.1%
- Other 24.9%
Nova Scotia:
- Groundfish 8.9%
- Tuna 0.9%
- Scallop 12.9%
- Lobster 60.9%
- Shrimp 5.1%
- Crab 5.8%
- Other 5.5%
New Brunswick:
- Groundfish 0.5%
- Tuna 0.0%
- Scallop 3.8%
- Lobster 74.2%
- Shrimp 0.7%
- Crab 17.7%
- Other 3.1%
Prince Edward Island:
- Groundfish 0.4%
- Tuna 1.0%
- Scallop 0.0%
- Lobster 89.2%
- Shrimp 0.0%
- Crab 7.9%
- Other 1.5%
Quebec:
- Groundfish 3.8%
- Tuna 0.1%
- Scallop 0.9%
- Lobster 66.2%
- Shrimp 4.1%
- Crab 21.8%
- Other 3.2%
Newfoundland and Labrador:
- Groundfish 12.1%
- Tuna 0.1%
- Scallop 0.4%
- Lobster 16.7%
- Shrimp 21.1%
- Crab 34.9%
- Other 14.7%
Top Species by Province
Lobster leads all Maritime Provinces and Québec. Snow Crab has become the largest fishery in NL, with Groundfish leading in BC.
Nova Scotia: $1.348B (37%)
- Lobster
- Scallop
- Groundfish
Newfoundland and Labrador: $725M (20%)
- Snow Crab
- Shrimp
- Lobster
- Groundfish
British Columbia: $453M (13%)
- Groundfish
- Crab
- Shrimp
New Brunswick: $391M (11%)
- Lobster
- Snow Crab
- Scallop
Québec: $366M (10%)
- Lobster
- Snow Crab
- Shrimp
Prince Edward Island: $325 (9%)
- Lobster
- Snow Crab
- Tuna
Lobster ($1.76B) and Crab ($620M) are Canada’s most valuable sea fisheries
Nova Scotia harvests 47% of Canadian lobster, by value. NL (41%) and BC (18%) are Canada’s leading harvesters for crab species.
2023 lobster landings, by provincial share of total landed values
- Nova Scotia 47%
- New Brunswick 16%
- Prince Edward Island 16%
- Quebec 14%
- Newfoundland and Labrador 7%
2023 crab landings, by provincial share of total landed values, for all combined crab species.
- Newfoundland and Labrador 41%
- British Columbia 18%
- Nova Scotia 13%
- Quebec 13%
- New Brunswick 11%
- Prince Edward Island 4%
Freshwater Fisheries: $89.575M (Landed Value, 2023)
| Freshwater Species | Value | Main harvesting province |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow pickerel (Walleye) | $53.1M | Ontario |
| Perch | $13.7M | Ontario |
| Whitefish | $11.9M | Manitoba |
| Other | $10.9M | n/a |
| Total landings | $89.575M | |
Top 10 Ports in Atlantic Canada: represent 20% of Atlantic Canadian landings by value
| Port | Prov. | Primary Sector | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shelburne | NS | Offshore |
| 2 | Harbour Grace | NL | Offshore |
| 3 | Argentia | NL | Offshore |
| 4 | Bay Roberts | NL | Offshore |
| 5 | Digby | NS | Inshore |
| 6 | Tignish Run | PEI | Inshore |
| 7 | North Sydney | NS | Offshore |
| 8 | Lower West
Pubnico |
NS | Inshore |
| 9 | St. John’s | NL | Inshore |
| 10 | Grand-Entrée | QC | Inshore |
Commercial Fisheries Values (2023)
| Commercial Fisheries | 2023 Values |
|---|---|
| Total GDP Contributions | $4.383B |
| Direct | $2.852B |
| Indirect | $949M |
| Induced | $582M |
| Share of Marine Economy | 8.6% |
Commercial Fishing: Quantities and Values
| Data | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantity (thousands of tonnes) | 822,349 | 811,034 | 822,202 | 751,254 | 732,879 | 686,821 | 654,595 |
| Value (billions of dollars) | 3,797 | 3,707 | 3,921 | 2,882 | 4,672 | 4,730 | 3,608 |
Historical Trends: Landed quantities have steadily declined (key drivers: snow crab, groundfish, herring, while landed values have fluctuated (key driver: prices).
Indigenous Commercial Communal Fisheries : Percentage of Commercial Fisheries
| Data | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific: Landed Value | 9.2% | 9.4% | 7.7% | 8.1% | 7.8% |
| Pacific: Landed Quantity | 4.0% | 3.1% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.4% |
| Atlantic: Landed Value | 6.74% | 5.75% | 6.20% | 5.68% | 6.57% |
| Atlantic: Landed Quantity | 4.43% | 3.47% | 3.76% | 3.82% | 4.08% |
Indigenous commercial communal participation forms a large percentage of total commercial activity. For 2021, landed values of 8% (Pacific) and 7% (Atlantic) contributed to total commercial catch.
Canadian Commercial Fisheries in 2023: Demographics
The Average Canadian Fish Harvester:
- Male
- Age 55
- Income: $75,208 (2022)
- Self-Employed Licence Holder
Employment in fish harvesting has been consistent, 2009-2022, 2% total increase over this period
- 37,760 Fish Harvesters
- 21770 Self-Employed
- 16,060 Wage-Earning Fish Harvesters
Canadian Fish Harvesters (2022)
| Gender | Self-Employed Fish Harvesters | Wage-Earning Fish Harvesters |
|---|---|---|
| Male | 16880 | 12520 |
| Female | 4890 | 3550 |
| Total | 21770 | 16060 |
Male-dominated: 78% of all harvesters
Female participation increasing, since 2016:
- 10% (self-employed)
- 2.5% (wage-earning)
Age Profile of Canadian Harvesters
| Age Range | Fish Harvesters | Canadian Labour Force |
|---|---|---|
| under 25 | 9.8% | 13.2% |
| 25-34 | 14.6% | 22.8% |
| 35-44 | 15.6% | 22.3% |
| 45-54 | 19.6% | 20.2% |
| 55-64 | 25.1% | 16.6% |
| 65+ | 15.4% | 4.9% |
Age: significantly older workforce, 15% of the workforce over 65 years of age, compared with 5% across all industries.
60% of harvesters over age 45, 45% age 45-65, 15% over age 65.
Fish Harvester Incomes (2016-2022)
| Fish harvester grouping | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed fish harvesters | 60,000 | 64,000 | 63,000 | 66,000 | 61,000 | 87,000 | 82,000 |
| Wage-earning fish harvesters | 52,000 | 57,000 | 57,000 | 60,000 | 59,000 | 66,000 | 66,000 |
Self-employed harvester incomes up 37% since 2016. Wage-earning harvesters up 27%.
Mean annual income: $75,208 (2022)
Male harvesters report 49% higher earnings
- Male: $81,483
- Female: $54,476
Fisheries EI claims and payments (2022)
| Province | FEI Claims | Amount Paid (Millions of Dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| NL | 14,408 | 178 |
| NS | 5,494 | 68.1 |
| NB | 3,007 | 40.8 |
| PE | 3,169 | 38 |
| BC | 2,006 | 21.4 |
| QC | 1,264 | 13.2 |
| Other | 1,099 | 13 |
Employment Insurance (EI): 20,937 harvesters submitted 30,447 claims (2022-23), EI usage remains significantly higher in Newfoundland and Labrador
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