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Where the Jobs Are

More than 90% of all the jobs supported by salmon farming in BC are located in rural communities along the coast. The majority of these communities are currently on Vancouver Island. Most of the employment was created over the past 10 to 15 years, and has been a tremendous boon in regions where other industries have often been in decline. Salmon-farming jobs, in contrast to much other resource-related employment, are also usually stable and year-round.

The industry today is concentrated in three regions:

• A little over half of the current annual value of production is generated on northern Vancouver Island, where the communities of Port McNeill and Port Hardy are important centres for the industry.
• About one-quarter of production comes from a region on the eastern coast of the island, centered on Campbell River.
• About 15 per cent of production comes from the area around Tofino on the west coast of the island.

Smaller numbers of farms are also currently located off the southern part of Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast on the mainland, and the central coast. In the future, concentrations of new farms are expected to be located off the northern and central coasts, and Prince Rupert has the potential to develop into an important centre for the industry.

Salmon farming can be a lifestyle choice, suiting those who embrace challenges, enjoy remote natural areas, surroundings of unparalleled beauty, easy access to wilderness and outdoor recreation opportunities, and smaller, friendly communities. To work on a farm site, it's important that you be able to cope with seasonally inclement weather and physically demanding work.

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