Independent economic analysis highlights the economic importance of each Skeena steelhead and the ocean-based threats to one of the world's premier wild fisheries.
New analysis calculates that the recreational steelhead fishery in the Skeena River watershed contributes approximately $33 million in annual economic output, worth $16 million in GDP, and supports 291 full-time equivalent jobs across British Columbia.
The report commissioned by Babine River Foundation finds that up to 80 percent of the economic activity generated by Skeena steelhead remains within the North Coast–Nechako region, supporting guides, lodges, restaurants, accommodations, transportation providers, retailers, and other local businesses. Guided angling in the Upper Skeena watershed accounts for more than 60 percent of the region's steelhead-related economic activity.
Prepared by Big River Analytics, Renewable Value, Minimal Impact: The Economic Value of Skeena River Steelhead is the first comprehensive assessment of the economic contribution of Skeena steelhead angling and the threats to one of the world's most valuable wild steelhead fisheries.
The Babine River — a key tributary in the Skeena watershed and one of the most storied wild steelhead rivers on Earth.
"This study demonstrates that healthy steelhead populations are more than a conservation success—they are a renewable economic asset that supports communities across Northern British Columbia. Protecting these fish means protecting local jobs, tourism businesses, and the long-term economic health of the region." — Gladys Atrill, Tourism Smithers
The Value of Every Steelhead
The Skeena's catch-and-release fishery is sustainable: the report estimates that each steelhead mortality associated with guided recreational angling corresponds to approximately $100,000 in regional economic output and one full-time local job. In the Upper Skeena, those figures rise to approximately $118,000 in economic output and 1.3 full-time jobs.
"Activities that remove steelhead—such as commercial fishing and ocean ranching—represent an opportunity cost exceeding $100,000 in provincial economic output per steelhead. These figures provide a benchmark for understanding the economic consequences of steelhead losses from ocean bycatch and other external pressures." — Carrie Collingwood, Babine River Foundation
Ocean Threats: Bycatch and Pink Salmon Ranching
According to the report, the combined impacts of commercial bycatch and ocean pink salmon ranching place approximately $23 million in annual regional economic output and 231 local jobs at risk in Northern British Columbia.
The report estimates that thousands of Skeena steelhead are destroyed each year as bycatch in commercial fisheries in Southeast Alaska and Canadian waters. The report also identifies competition associated with the extraordinary biannual abundance of hatchery pink salmon as a significant concern. Since 1990, odd year pink salmon abundance has exceeded even year abundance by an average of 136 million fish. During the same period, approximately 14,500 fewer Skeena steelhead returned in odd years than in even years.
A wild Skeena steelhead. The report estimates each fish lost to a guided angling mortality represents roughly $100,000 in regional economic output and one full-time local job.
"That relationship does not prove that pink salmon are the sole cause of reduced steelhead survival, but it is a warning. The potential effects of industrial-scale pink salmon ocean ranching, including large hatchery releases from Prince William Sound and elsewhere in the North Pacific, require independent scientific evaluation and serious international attention." — John McMillan, MSc, Fishery Scientist, The Conservation Angler
Protecting a World-Class Fishery
The report concludes that targeted improvements to commercial fishery management and ocean ranching practices will do much more for conservation than restrictions on the recreational steelhead fishery, which could inflict economic harm on Northern BC communities.
The study was funded by the Babine River Foundation, Native Fish Society, The Conservation Angler, Upper Skeena Angling Guides Association, and Tourism Smithers.
Read the Summary
Click the cover below to open the interactive viewer and page through the full five-page summary of Renewable Value, Minimal Impact: The Economic Value of Skeena River Steelhead — or download it as a PDF.
The full report is available at babineriverfoundation.com/projects.
Media Contacts
Carrie Collingwood — 250 877 8299
Babine River Foundation — info@babineriverfoundation.com
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