Why is it hard to buy local fish in a B.C. port city? Researchers look for answers

Prince Rupert prided itself as "thehalibut capital of the world" a century ago,but it's now trickyto get a line on fresh seafood in the port city on B.C.'s northwest coast, a research team has found.

EcotrustCanada, anon-profit organization that promotes community development and environmental sustainability, is trying to figure out why.

The group is conductingresearch about the challenges in finding and buying a locally caught sea food in groceries stores and alsothe difficulties in running a small fishing business.

"The assumption would have been that it's a coastal town, there is fishing all around us and so it should be fairly easy to access fresh, locally caught seafood. But that's actually not the case here," said Rabia Ahmed, a project coordinator with EcotrustCanada.

Part of the reason is cost, she told Carolina deRyk, the host ofCBC'sDaybreak North.

Halibut currently sells for about $28 per pound in Prince Rupert, she said, a price that has increased steeply in recent years.

"Seafood being too expensive was one of the most common responses we heard from people," she said.

Part of the reason for those high pricesis the closure of local processing plants. Now most of the seafood caughtin the waters offPrince Rupert from prawns to geoduck to salmon is processed elsewhere and directlyshipped to other markets.

There is alwaysmore demand than supply for locally caught seafood, she said

"There is definitely a concern that it does affect food security because it's this food source that everyone has relied on for so long and now it's becoming more and more difficult to access," Ahmed said.

Need to diversify

With low returns of some fish specieslike salmon, Ahmed said, part of the solution is diversifying the types of seafood that are being caught andsold.

There is also community interest in connecting fishermen more directly with the consumer, she said, with the creation of open fish markets or community supported fisheries.

"My research has focused so far on understanding the 'why' of people in Prince Rupert finding it difficult to access fresh seafood," she said.

The research project will continue throughout the summer and into next year. Ahmed has mainly focused on surveying local residents and plans to focus on fishermen next.After that, the project will look at what typeof fish market is feasible and wanted in Prince Rupert.

With files from Daybreak North.

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