Fishing the West Coast is our annual photo contest and exhibit. You can vote for your favourite photo until March 2nd! Visit the Cannery or vote on Flickr!
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 Photo courtesy of Slow Fish. Slow Fish is the marine branch of the Slow Food movement and makes for a great educational resource for all things fishy. The objective of the project is to further understanding of the current state of oceans and to provide consumers with the tools to make informed decisions about their seafood. A particularly inspirational feature is their Fishing Heros series, which showcases the contributions of an international selection of chefs and fishermen, each doing their bit to promote sustainability in their home ports.  Photo courtesy of the Globe and Mail. Remember the great sockeye run of 2010? According to the Globe and Mail, early DFO predictions indicate that this summer’s run could top it to become the largest seen in living history. Sockeye salmon have a four-year cycle, meaning that this summer’s dominant run is the direct result of the high numbers of spawners in 2010. It may be too early to predict exact numbers, but favourable ocean conditions and a record migration of young sockeye out of the Fraser in the spring of 2012 are a solid basis for (cautious) optimism amongst fishermen. Read the full story here.
And the answer to last week’s “What am I” mystery item: It’s a retort! What was a retort used for? During the cannery’s operational days, the retort cooked the raw salmon in the cans. This steam-powered pressure-cooker would kill all bacteria and other organisms in the fish, ensuring that it could be safely eaten. Cooking, however, was not the only use of this colossal machine! Today, Steveston may look quaint and quiet, but during its cannery heyday, it was quite a different story. Steveston, believe it or not, was a rough-and-tumble town with a number of saloons, brothels, gambling dens, and opium dens —and a lot of lawlessness. So much lawlessness that, when the jail ran out of room for tipsy townspeople, they’d be tossed into a retort! No, we didn’t cook them. The door of the retort would be closed up, with a little bit of room for air, and was used as a ‘drunk tank’ instead! Come see this machine and many more at the Cannery, open daily from 10am to 5 pm, and learn the unique stories that accompany each one! Next week’s mystery:
Good luck! And keep the guesses coming!
For la première fois ever, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery will be represented at Maillardville‘s annual Festival du Bois in Coquitlam this weekend. The fabulous francophone festival promises to be filled with great music, entertainment and, most importantly, poutine! If you find yourself in that neck of the woods (pun intended!) on Saturday or Sunday, drop by our tent say bonjour and try your luck at our popular salmon can stuffing game. Warning: competition ensues. The Cannery is not responsible for ensuing sibling rivalry.  Image courtesy of Vancouver Sun. The increasing acidity of West Coast waters is reported to have caused the deaths of 10 million scallops near Qualicum Beach in today’s Vancouver Sun. High acidity, due to the absorption of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions, has pushed the pH of local water from an average of 8.2 as low as 7.2. A decrease in pH makes it more difficult for baby scallops to build a protective shell, making them more vulnerable to predators and infections. As a result, Island Scallops in Nanaimo has closed its processing plant and laid off almost one third of its work force. Read more about this increasing concern on the West Coast here. 
Come join us for some spring break fun! The Cannery will be featuring Titanium Chef, an interactive skit about sustainable seafood choices, daily at 11:30am and 2:30pm (*subject to change due to programming schedule). Complete the experience by learning more about sustainable choices with a scavenger hunt around the . . . → Read More: Spring Break at the Cannery!  Should you be lucky enough to know a fisherman with a smoker, this BBC GoodFood recipe is an ideal way to use up that smoked salmon in your freezer. If you’re buying salmon like the rest of us, remember to choose sustainable pink, with has a lovely delicate colour and subtle flavour. Bon appetit! Ingredients . . . → Read More: Scrumptious Seafood: Smoked Salmon & Lemon Risotto  Join us this weekend for an in-depth look at our current feature exhibit Ryoshi – Nikkei Fishermen of the BC Coast. Learn about the contributions of Japanese Canadians to the West Coast fishing industry both before and after World War II. Our volunteers will be leading special guided tours 11am-3pm on Saturday and Sunday in . . . → Read More: Join us for Heritage Afloat!  Welcome to our latest blog series: “What am I?” ! Every week we will be posting a close-up shot of a mystery item from the Cannery. Over the week, it’s your job to mull it over, figure it out and post your guesses in the “Comments” section below. Then, the following week, all will be . . . → Read More: What am I? New Blog Series  A delectable and sustainable dish, recipe courtesy of the David Suzuki Foundation via SeaChoice ambassador and B.C. fisherman, John Mauriks. Tangy Sambal Salmon Cakes Prep time 2 hours. Serves 4. FILLING 2 cups cooked pink salmon, flaked into small pieces and deboned 2 Tbs plain yoghurt 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped 2 Tbs finely . . . → Read More: Scrumptious Seafood: Tangy Sambal Pink Salmon Cakes |
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