I^.' INDIANS IN Tlir rOMMFRriM I ISIK Rirs 



atlcr the war Indian cnipknnicnt in the tishcncs declined 

 sharply. 



This niDre recent displacement \sa.s caiiseil In the 

 accelerated consolidation ot the canning industry into 

 fewer, larger operatii>ns and the adoption of bigger and 

 costlier vessels. By 1^70. only 15 canneries were o|xrrat- 

 ing. all but 3 in the Iraser and Skeena areas. ITieir 

 employees had been reduced to about 3,700. of which 

 Indians accounted tor about 1.5(X).' 



Prior to this consolidation, many Indian fishermen 

 fished in local waters close to canneries, using smaller, 

 older vessels rented from the processing companies. Their 

 numbers tell rapidly as the canneries closed down, espe- 

 cially on the central and northern coast. On the west 

 coast of Vancouver Island, local fish camps, which 

 Indian troll fishermen relied upon to buy their fish, also 

 closed. Moreover, Indians were unable to raise the capi- 

 tal for larger, more powerful and more mobile vessels and 

 more st>phisticated gear. So they were unable to compete. 



Figure 12-1 Postwar trends in Indian participation in the 

 salmon fishery' 



1954 1964 1971 1977 1979 



' Data refer to vessels licensed, but not necessarily active in any year, and are 

 not precise. 



Sources: H. Hawthorn et al.. The Indians of British Columbia. 1958: 



M. Friedlaender. Economic Status of Native Indians in Brit- 

 ish Columbia. 1964-1973. 1975: W. McKay and K. Ouelette. 

 Review of Indian Fishermen's Assistance Program. 1978; and 

 Native Brotherhood of British Columbia. Exhibit #l4la. 

 Appendix VI. 



In about two decades the number of vessels owned by 

 Indians in the salmon fleet fell by roughly 60 percent, to 

 599 in 1971 as shown in Figure 12-1. Between 1964 and 

 1971 the number of gillnetters declined by about 400, to 

 345. Indian-owned trollers dropped from 388 to 197, and 

 seiners, from 135 to 57. Nonsalmon vessels owned by 

 Indians, while few in number, declined even more rapidly 

 during this period, from 12 percent of the total fleet in 

 1963 to less than one percent in 1971. By the beginning of 

 the 1970s, the fishing and processing industries employed 

 less than half the number of Indians that had been 



involved two ilecatles earlier. Since restrictive licensing 

 was introduceil lor the salmon fishery 12 years ago, the 

 luiniber of Indian salmon licensees has declined substan- 

 tially. 



Table 12-1 shows the number of Indian licence holders 

 in the salmon fishery in 1979 and in other fisheries in 

 1980. In 1979 Indians operated about 60 percent of the 

 salmi>n vessels rented by processing companies; of the 

 260 licensed vessels rented by Indians, 55 were .seine ves- 

 sels and the remainder gillnetters. 



' The figures provided in this table are estimates. 



''Estimates for 1979, including ordinary. Indian and temporary licences. 



Source: Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 



The marked decline in Indian-operated vessels during 

 this century does not fully reflect the decline in gainful 

 employment, of course; employment of Indians as crew- 

 men on fishing boats and packers, in support industries 

 and in canneries also declined. The erosion of employ- 

 ment in fishing and related occupations has had a devas- 

 tating impact on dozens of Indian communities that 

 oflfered no other employment opportunities and where 

 unemployment was already chronic. 



In one century, we have been dispossessed of 

 the ability to provide for ourselves. . . . We 

 have a sole economy, that of fishing, and have 

 managed to continue participation in this 

 resource industry as commercial fishers, but 

 each year the ability to participate has less- 

 ened.^ 



And it created severe economic and social problems 

 beyond those normally attributed to unemployment. For 

 example, vessels were displaced that had been depended 

 upon for food fishing and for transportation links with 

 other communities.' 



