For immediate release
Victoria, B.C. (June 24, 2025 ) – Pacific Wild today unveiled a groundbreaking interactive story map revealing the extensive and largely hidden impact of industrial trawling along British Columbia’s (B.C.) coast. Over the last 13 years, nine factory trawlers have collectively scoured an area larger than Ireland—totalling 89,700 square kilometres—trawling both the seafloor and midwater of ecologically sensitive offshore habitats.
While trawling proponents argue they only trawl 5% of the coast, the fact is this mapping shows that industrial trawlers are targeting B.C.’s most biodiverse oceanic regions and hammering Chinook salmon migration routes over and over.
There is no publicly available data from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) documenting trawl activity in B.C. after 2016. Using AIS vessel data, Pacific Wild’s investigation shows these vessels, many with troubling histories in the Northeast Atlantic, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, and Bering Sea—have travelled more than 900,000 kilometres—often operating out of public view and with questionable oversight. Their massive nets indiscriminately destroy fragile ecosystems supporting ancient corals and seamounts while records show that over 200 different species are caught as bycatch and thrown overboard.
In 2024, Pacific Wild broke the news that the Pacific Region mid-water groundfish trawl fishery alone caught more than 28,000 salmon as bycatch, 93% of which were Chinook salmon, in 2022/2023. This new mapping investigation shows that this is not an isolated case. Alarmingly, many of their trawl pathways overlap with Chinook salmon migration routes, which are essential feeding grounds for endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales and support the broader coastal food web—from herring and salmon to whales, wolves, and seabirds.
“Those harrowing images circulating on social media from David Attenborough’s new film Ocean—of a chained net dragging along the seabed and destroying everything in its path—are very real, and it’s happening here,” said Sydney Dixon, Marine Specialist at Pacific Wild. “Even some areas designated for conservation are not off-limits.”
Pacific Wild’s investigation reveals that industrial trawling continues to occur within some Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)—both legally and illegally—according to DFO, obtained through Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests.
Despite the scale and ecological cost of industrial trawling, transparency from DFO remains alarmingly limited. Publicly available trawl data is outdated, with DFO’s last spatial footprint layer ending in 2016. More recent and detailed records—such as the names of licensed trawl vessels outside of the current fishing season—were withheld in response to ATIP requests, with DFO citing privacy concerns.
“To complete this investigation, Pacific Wild purchased commercial AIS data from private companies and cross-referenced it with historical datasets—effectively doing the work that should already be publicly accessible,” said Kevin Lester, GIS Analyst.
“While more than 40 trawlers operate on the coast, our mapping focused on the nine factory trawlers responsible for the vast majority of impact. The lack of transparency raises serious questions about how industrial fishing methods are monitored in Canadian waters, and whether the public has the information it needs to hold industry and government accountable.”
Pacific Wild is calling for a ban on industrial trawl fishing to protect B.C.’s vulnerable marine ecosystems and the species that depend on them. A transition to community-led, sustainably managed fisheries would not only better support coastal livelihoods—but also help restore ocean health for future generations.
“Trawling is the most destructive fishing practice in the world, and this investigation exposes the urgent need for stronger monitoring, public access to data, and bold policy action to end the trawling destruction happening on our coast,” said Ian McAllister, Pacific Wild Co-Founder.
“There is no upside to this method of fishing, turning rockfish that have been living longer than Canada into pet food and fish farm feed is clearly unsustainable. Canadians will be shocked to learn that this is occurring within our borders and this story map is a critical step towards uncovering what is happening beneath the surface—and what’s at risk if it continues.”
Media Contact:
Laurie Hamelin
Communications Lead, Pacific Wild
comms@pacificwild.org
Media:
Contact Laurie Hamelin for access to high resolution images & B-roll.
About Pacific Wild
Pacific Wild is a Canadian charity dedicated to wildlife conservation throughout the Pacific Northwest.
