Deep trouble, deeper opportunity: How tariffs are reshaping B.C.’s dive fisheries

On September 20 in Richmond, the province’s dive fisheries tested a bold idea: whether Canadian consumers were ready to embrace geoduck, sea cucumber, and sea urchin the way they once embraced spot prawns. The first Divers’ Catch Gala brought together top chefs  and divers to showcase these delicacies, which have long been considered world-class exports but are rarely eaten at home.

The stakes are high. B.C.’s dive fisheries, which rely on sustainably harvested geoduck, sea urchin, and sea cucumber, have long depended on China. But when you put all your clams in one basket, the risk is obvious: a single tariff, and the tide goes out fast.Now, harvesters are using these pressures to create momentum for diversification both locally and internationally.

For Katie McLeod, marketing manager for the Underwater Harvesters Association, the story is both personal and professional. She grew up in a geoduck fishing family and has now a perspective and background that highlight the impact of recent tariffs clearly. “The price remains inconsistent for our fishing families, when the tariffs were first announced our geoduck price dropped by 50%. It has increased a bit since. However, it remains 25% lower than before, and our fishing families are forced to take a salary cut because of these tariffs,” McLeod explains.

From Seafloor to Supper

Unlike halibut or spot prawns, which have been commercially harvested for over a century, the geoduck industry is still new. As McLeod notes, “Because of the technology that takes to harvest gooey ducks with commercial divers, the commercial fishery didn’t actually start until the late 1970s.” According to the Underwater Harvesters Association, B.C. currently has 55 geoduck licenses, 85 sea cucumber licenses, 49 green urchin licenses, and 110 red urchin licenses. The geoduck fleet has about 40 boats, with each boat having a crew of threeTogether, divers harvest just under three million pounds of geoduck per year, less than 1.2 percent of the total biomass.

McLeod describes the harvesting process in detail: “The commercial divers one at a time… are on surface supply air. They have what’s called a stinger, which is essentially a pressure washer. It’s high powered water that liquefies the sand around the clam and they’ll grab it and put it in their bag.” Once the clams are collected, they are placed in cages, loaded onto packer boats, and transported to Vancouver or
Richmond. From there, they are exported, usually arriving in China within 24 to 48 hours.

Independent research and monitoring from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) support the industry’s claims about sustainability. As McLeod explains: “Independent research has shown that it kind of has the same effect on the seafloor as basically a winter storm. So the sand will just settle back… it has no permanent damage to the seafloor.” According to a Washington Sea Grant study and DFO records, the use of the stinger to liquefy sand around geoducks, the seafloor disturbance is temporary and recovers naturally, much like after a storm.

Tariffs, Tides and Trade

China has always been crucial to B.C.’s dive fisheries. It has influenced pricing and marketing strategies. McLeod explains that her father has been a commercial diver since the 1980s. He is now the president of the Underwater Harvesters Association and helped build many of those connections. “He’s been consistently going to China for as long as I can remember and now I do as well,” she says.

But relying on one market can leave an industry vulnerable. During COVID, China was the first market to shut down, and fisheries faced instant losses. When the tariffs were unexpectedly announced this year, prices dropped overnight. As McLeod points out, the fishery can’t rely on a single market anymore, especially in a world where trade conditions can change quickly. For fishing families, the consequences
are immediate: “That’s a 50% cut to their salary sort of out of nowhere,” she says. “The price remains inconsistent for our fishing families, when the tariffs were first announced our geoduck price dropped by 50%. It has increased a bit since. However, it remains 25% lower than before, and our fishing families are forced to take a salary cut because of these tariffs.”

Shared Waters, Shared Futures

According to the Underwater Harvesters Association, about 20 to 25 percent of commercial dive fishery licenses in B.C., are Indigenous owned. This number has been steadily increasing in recent years. “The amount of Indigenous participation in our commercial dive fisheries has grown significantly. The main investors in geoduck fishery have been Indigenous in the past few years,” McLeod says. Those investments also mean that recent tariffs have had broad impacts across communities. As McLeod explains, “ 50% salary cut is both Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishermen.”

Beyond the Horizon

Diversification has become a priority. B.C. associations are promoting dive fisheries at trade shows across the globe, including Barcelona, Boston, and Singapore. “We do have a bit of a market in Europe, but it’s quite small in relation to China. We are seeing consistent small numbers into new areas around the world. But again, it’s nowhere near the amount that China is importing from Canada each year.” At home, awareness is only beginning to grow. “The domestic demand is growing, we have many chefs reaching out to use geoduck. It is still not strong enough to support the fishery on its own. Our fishing remains entirely dependent on the market and economy in China,” McLeod says. For now, consumers might spot geoduck and urchins at grocery chains like T&T or on menus at high-end Japanese and Chinese restaurants.

A Feast from the Deep

For an industry under pressure, one of the most important experiments was the Divers’ Catch Gala, held on September 20 in Richmond. If the Spot Prawn Festival could turn a niche export into a household name, who was to say geoduck sashimi couldn’t become the next local obsession? McLeod saw the parallel clearly: “The success of the Spot Prawn Festival and the previous reliance that Spot Prawns had on the Japanese market. We now see a lot of local demand for Spot Prawns and we want to see if we can grow our local markets for three niche dive species.”

The gala showcased geoduck, sea cucumber, and sea urchin prepared by some of the province’s top chefs. For McLeod, the goal was twofold: “To educate consumers about the seafood delicacies that are growing in our own backyards. These species are known around the world as delicacies, but the average Canadian consumer has never tried them. For chefs, it’s the opportunity for our industry members and associations to make stronger connections within the culinary community and allow the chefs opportunity to use our products.” Beyond the dining room, the event was designed to spark awareness and advocacy. “We will have various industry members in attendance to educate consumers and educational tables with promotional material and brochures so guests can learn,” she added.

Riding out the Storm

If tariffs remain in place or increase, the risks are severe. “It will have serious consequences for our industry if the tariffs worsen. The price will drop, our boats will remain tied up in many cases, and our fisheries might shut down until there is resolution,” McLeod warns.

That makes initiatives like the Divers’ Catch Gala more than just a marketing effort; they are a test to see if new markets can be created before old ones disappear. The association’s main values, sustainability, science, and advocacy, will guide the way forward. However, survival ultimately depends on whether Canadians are willing to put these species on their plates.

In the end, McLeod says it comes down to a shift in mindset: “I would say be open-minded. I mean, there’s so many delicious seafood products that are harvested on the west coast. We’re so lucky that these are growing in the wild in our own backyard… just be open-minded because there are a lot of fishing families that rely on those products.”