The BC Salmon Marketing Council is a non-profit, generic marketing organization for wild BC salmon.
Formed in 1991 by the commercial salmon fishermen in British Columbia, Canada to represent the harvesters and processors of commercially-caught wild BC salmon. It is funded by BC commercial fishermen and government sources to fulfill its official mandate:
benefit and promote the BC wild salmon industry;
conduct research and educational programs for the development and promotion of commercially harvested wild BC salmon, and;
communicate to national and international markets the quality, availability and value of wild BC salmon.
The BCSMC is the ONLY marketing program that represents all BC wild salmon – all five species, all runs, all gear types, all products. As consumers face a myriad of salmon choices, we help promote wild BC salmon as the best choice for healthy, nutritious, delicious and sustainable seafood.
The BCSMC includes a broad cross-section of the BC wild salmon industry including troll, gillnet, seine, First Nations, the union and both small and large processors. The BCSMC enables fishermen to get involved in the branding and marketing of their catch in ways that support the viability of the commercial fishery and fishing communities.
Some of the ways BCSMC supports the Wild Salmon industry:
BRAND DELIVERY: We define a clear, strong GO WILD! BC SALMON brand and work hard to deliver it both domestically and internationally
PARTNERSHIPS: We partner with a variety of organizations to support shared interests on behalf of Wild BC Salmon like Oceanwise, International Year of the Salmon and MSC
PROMOTIONS: By working with grocery stores and fish counters, we get the GO WILD! brand out to consumers.
EVENTS: Our biggest event is the Wild Salmon Celebration – an annual dinner at False Creek Harbour. This event gets a lot of media attention and focuses consumer interest in Wild BC Salmon.
ADVOCACY: We represent the commercial salmon industry in a variety of issues and respond to media and public enquiries on all things salmon.
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT: We create content, photos, recipes and informational articles that are available for all to use for their own marketing purposes.
POINT OF SALE: We develop and make available kits that help grocery stores and fish counters make Wild BC Salmon stand out.
MARKET LEADS: We share export market opportunities with the wild BC salmon processing sector and advise trade officials around the world on the availability and qualities of Wild BC Salmon.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA: Our content-rich website is the first point of contact for engagement with consumers of all types and provides information about the benefits of Wild BC Salmon an where to purchase it worldwide.
FISHERMEN FEATURE: Each month, a Wild BC Salmon commercial fishermen is featured on our site and social media.
BC Salmon Marketing Council Members
The BCSMC is a volunteer-run council comprised of commercial salmon fishermen and a number of top executives from the fish buying and processing sector who meet several times per year to help develop and drive a comprehensive marketing program that benefits BC’s Wild Salmon industry. Wild Salmon is the ONLY commercial fishing sector that has a marketing council that supports them with both industry guidance and governmental funding support. Supported by a small, but talented and hardworking marketing & administration team, the BCSMC works hard all year long to ensure that the benefits will flow almost entirely to B.C.’s commercial wild salmon fishermen.
Troll Sector: Dane Chauvel (Chair)
Troll Sector: Bob Fraumeni (Past Chair)
Seine Sector: Chris Ashton
Gillnet: Darin Chung
First Nations: Henry Clifton
First Nations: William Gladstone
UFAWU: Guy Johnston
Large Processor: Colin McMillan(Canfisco)
Large Processor: John Nishidate (Grand Hale)
Small Processor: Robert Graham (Oceanfood Sales)
Small Processor: Steve Hughes (St. Jean’s Cannery)
BC Salmon Marketing Council Administration
Managing Director - Steven Richards (srichards@bcsalmon.ca)
Marketing Manager - Lisa Simonsen (lsimonsen@bcsalmon.ca)
Administrator - Leslie Budden (lbudden@bcsalmon.ca)
Social Media & Digital Marketing Support - Christine Nielsen (cnielsen@bcsalmon.ca)