Fisheries and the Canadian economy
1.1 Main Fishing Activities
In Canada, the fishing industry is comprised of three main economic activities: commercial fishing (harvesting), aquaculture or fish farming, and fish processing. In 2011, commercial marine and freshwater landings yielded 876,277t valued at $2.2 billion (Table 1.1). Aquaculture production was 163,036t, valued at $845.6 million. During the same period, fish processing generated $4.4 billion, mainly from sales.
In 2011, commercial marine landings increased by 15% in value, despite a drop in the volume of landings by 11%. Commercial marine landings grew mainly due to increases in the landings of crab, shrimp, and lobster from the Atlantic coast. Fish landings from freshwater fisheries were valued at $58.0 million in 2011, down 4% from 2010; whereas aquaculture production was valued at $845.6 million, down slightly from 2011.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| metric tonnes | millions of dollars | |||||||
| Marine fisheries | 960,231 | 951,529 | 858,343 | 803,441 | $1,702 | $1,826 | $2,100 | $2,121 |
| Freshwater fisheries | 29,575 | 27,265 | 25,744 | 29,326 | $58 | $60 | $58 | $67 |
| Aquaculture Production 1 | 156,537 | 163,020 | 163,594 | 174,057 | $800 | $919 | $839 | $825 |
1Source: Statistics Canada, Aquaculture Statistics 2011, Catalogue no. 23-222-X.
Total revenue from fish and seafood processing Footnote 1 rose to $4.4 billion in 2011, up 9% from 2010
1.2 Employment by Fishing Activity
In 2011, the harvesting sector employed 49,609 fish harvesters and crew members, a marginal increase from 2010 (Table 1.2). Aquaculture employed 3,292 workers, down 2% from 2010. Meanwhile, 31,903 workers were employed in the fish and seafood processing industry, up 8% from the previous year.
| Industry | Employment estimates (number of persons) | ||
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| Harvesting1 | 51,014 | 49,526 | 49,609P |
| Aquaculture2 | 3,584 | 3,375 | 3,292 |
| Processing3 | 27,305 | 29,599 | 31,903 |
| Total | 81,903 | 82,500 | 84,804 |
1Number of fish harvesters and crew. DFO, Economic Analysis and Statistics.
2Statistics Canada, Survey of Aquaculture Industry, unpublished estimates
3Statistics Canada. Table 301-0006 - Principal statistics for manufacturing industries, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), annual, CANSIM (database).
1.3 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Industry
Between 2010 and 2011 total Canadian GDP increased by 3% (Table 1.3). Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting GDP also increased by 3% between 2010 and 2011 though remained virtually unchanged in 2012. Fish harvesting increased by 3% between 2010 and 2011, and by an additional 3% in 2012. Meanwhile, fish processing increased at annual rate of growth of 8% between 2010 and 2011, while decreasing slightly in 2012.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Industry | Millions of chained 2007 Dollars1 | |||
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | $23,622 | $23,998 | $24,794 | $24,962 |
| Fishing, hunting and trapping | $1,069 | $1,132 | $1,060 | $1,127 |
| Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging | $852 | $992 | $1,069 | $1,102 |
| All industries | $1,437,361 | $1,486,815 | $1,525,279 | $1,553,042 |
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 379-0031 - Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), annual (dollars), CANSIM (database)
1Note that chained dollars allow for the calculation of growth rates, but not the contribution of each industry to the total Canadian GDP, as aggregates are not equal to the sum of their components
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