Pandemic Pivot: Fishing Edition
We all remember the panic buying and empty shelves when the pandemic first hit BC in March 2020. But we tend to forget the impact that those supply chain issues have on fish harvesters.
By April 2020, live fish buyers were not buying any lingcod or rockfish as lockdowns loomed large, restaurants were temporarily shuttered, and people were asked to stay at home. Fourth-generation fisherman Jordan Belveal found himself sitting in his Nanaimo backyard with his partner Caitlin trying to figure out how to do a fishing trip when fish buyers weren’t buying.
Hearing reports of food scarcity around Vancouver Island and the long lineups at grocery stores, they saw an opportunity to help their community with Jordan’s commercial fishing licenses. Caitlin says, “I asked Jordan how many lingcod he would need to sell in order to do a fishing trip… he said 50”. Yet Jordan was hesitant, “I doubt we will be able to sell even 50 fish”.
So she texted a bunch of friends and sold 23. Later that night, Jordan made a Facebook post. Within an hour, they had sold more than their target. And by the end of the weekend, they had sold 127 whole lingcod. In Jordan’s words, “it just sort of snowballed from there”.
They financed their first two fishing trips with pre-orders of a $40 flat rate per fish, payable by e-transfer, and delivered directly to peoples’ houses as far away as Victoria. But they quickly realized it was much easier to have people come directly to their boat, with the unintended benefit of better connecting their customers to where their fish comes from.
Fast-forward to the end of 2021, and the family-owned fishing company is thriving. They have expanded to selling halibut, lingcod, rockfish, tuna, and salmon. Within three days this season, they were sold out of salmon and have started a growing waitlist. Or, as they call it, their “fish wish list”.
On land, Caitlin is managing orders and emails. Out at sea, Jordan knows that every freshly caught fish has a home to go to. Their local pre-order system doesn’t just give them more financial certainty; it reduces the amount of BC seafood exported to other markets, and reduces food waste.
When asked about his decision to sell whole fish versus fillets, Jordan says, “nobody was really doing whole fish… you can buy fillets almost anywhere you want. But there’s a whole segment of the population that wants the whole fish... they want to fillet it themselves, they get a better value out of it, and use all the parts, tail to snout”.
Beyond creating a new direct-to-consumer fishing business, the most rewarding part of the experience for Jordan has been training his oldest son how to haul in the catch on their family boat, the Blue Bayou.
You can learn more about Jordan and Caitlin’s pandemic pivot by visiting their website: islandwildseafoods.ca
Article and photos by Chelsey Ellis