SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Bob Smith RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-01-22 SUMMARY: Bob Smith was born on Lulu Island at Steveston Hwy. Near the golf course in 1906. His father was a fisherman and also worked for Imperial Cannery in the net loft. He started fishing in the Rivers Inlet in 1926 with Wallace Fisheries, as wharfman, then to the Balmoral Cannery on the Skeena River in 1933. Lots of fish in those days. Worked in canneries all over Queen Charlottes, up the Skeena, Canadian Fish and B.C. Packers. Converted a sailboat on the Skeena into a gillnetter with a Chev engine. Took 16 days to come from the Skeena to the Fraser River. Fished with it for 4 or 5 years. Describes the conversion of the sailboat into a gillnetter. Returned to cannery work. Built another boat at Nelson ship yards, a bigger one (31 feet) at the time of the return of the Japanese. Nets these days are more efficient (tape become inaudible). Catches have become smaller, problem of conservation, not enough fish to catch. 12 mile limit is not enough. Long hours fishing in the old days, pulling the net by hand until drums were used. He stays mostly in the river now. Was a union member from the start. Talks of early union organizing difficulties. Talks of Japanese internment, too bad they had to; lose their nets, gradually they returned to the coast. There was not much discrimination between Indians and Japanese and whites. Housing conditions described. Housed were improved in 1926-1927 for Japanese, Indians, and whites. Safety measures improved with union. Bookkeepers were the first-aid men. American Can replaced canning by hand. There's more independence from the canneries now. Fraser River has changed a lot. Pollution affects the fingerlings, especially dog-salmon. Fishing regulations are a help but the fisheries department needs more money for its programs. Salmon enhancement programs have been worthwhile. Buy-back program has not been successful, too many seiners now. Future of fishing is ok if there is more money put into it and the 200 mile limit is enforced.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Dominic Bussanich RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-19 SUMMARY: Dominic Bussanich was born in 1904 and started fishing when he was 13 years old with his father on a gillnetter. Used to fish 5 or 6 days a week in Canoe Pass and Rivers Inlet. Built his own boats. Fished up at Rivers Inlet for 10 or 12 years. River has changed, the channels are different and fishing on it is very difficult now (1976). No fishing at all in North Arm of Fraser any more because of too much traffic. Pollution in river is terrible. The catch has decreased in the river because the gear is so efficient but also the Americans are taking most of the fish: Canadians get only 12 hours a week to fish, Americans fish 4 and 5 days. He worked on seine boats and also built boats for a living. He prefers wood boats to fibreglass and aluminum. New equipment on boats makes fishing easier. Discusses gillnetters and seiners. Talks about Japanese fishermen and their treatment during the War. Indian fishermen. Herring fishing. He fished for B.C. Packers, Canadian Fish, Bell Irving, Nelson Bros. Formed a co-op, Canoe Pass. Co-op in 1941- 1942, gillnetters. Co-op is now (1976) about 70 members and still going. Lots of changes in Delta area. Sports fishermen also take more than their share. Need to have higher prices to pay for expensive boats. He used to drive a truck in the off-season to make ends meet and then he went into boat building. Discusses reasons for poor herring fishery of 1975: greed the main reason, trying to pack too many fish. There is a need for a 200 mile limit. Discusses fishing in the north out of Prince Rupert.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Harry Thompson RECORDED: Richmond (B.C.), 1976-04-07 SUMMARY: Harry Thompson was born and raised in Steveston at No. One Road and Steveston Highway. His father worked on the original Steves' Farm, for Harold Steves' grandfather. Later, his father acquired his own farm between Georgia St. and 6th Avenue. They had about 15-18 cows and a milk delivery route. Harry delivered the unprocessed, raw milk on the route, which was about 15 deliveries. They stayed in the milk business until sanitation regulations during the War forced them out of the business, so they began shipping all the milk to be processed in Vancouver. Harry started fishing at age 12 in 1936 with his older brother in a skiff. Their father made a deal with a Japanese farmer and they got a fish net for the good run in 1936, it was a linen net. Their father had a license which allowed them to fish. In 1938 he went to Rivers Inlet with an old fellow to fish. He fished for Goose Bay Cannery. In the daytime they fished along the shore, at night they moved into the middle of the inlet and turned on their lamps; it was like a little city, they were kind of lost. There were many Native fishermen and cannery workers, and a few Chinese and Scandinavian people. Their first boat was the "S.S. Box", an old square thing, with a Model T Ford engine sawn in half and one cylinder running. They never went out of sight of Steveston, and did most of their fishing in the mouth of the river. Recalls fishing stories. His family never lacked food or clothing during the Depression, but his parents worked hard. Discusses different boats owned and profits. The Japanese internment during WWII. Changes that resulted in fishing and Steveston after the Japanese were evacuated. His wife worked in the cannery for Canadian Fish when he met her. Discusses new nylon nets and equipment. Fishing for halibut. Joining the Union, 1944-45. Changes in the fishery over the years. Discusses the reasons for the many accidents in the recent herring fishery.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-05 SUMMARY: Hugh Montgomery was born in Ireland and came to Steveston in June 1913, the year of the good salmon run in the Fraser River. He started work in the cannery at age 7. The fish were so plentiful and the canneries were so short of help that they hired at any age. Put empty cans on trays and ten took them to the women so they could can the salmon. That paid two and a half cents an hour. Became a journeyman, worked up along the coast. Namu was one of the major plants of the coast where he became chief machinist and can maker for nine seasons. Got married and went to the Queen Charlottes as foreman of the plant. Went to Canadian Fish Cannery at Skeena River as assistant-foreman for five years. The accommodations were rough: just wooden shacks, but the cookhouse always had lots to eat, and good food. Worked long hours 6 am - 12 am because there was no refrigeration at cannery or on boats so fish had to be processed right away. Straight labour was paid by the hour but filling cans was paid by piecework. The key men in the plant such as mechanics, tallyman, and net supervisors were paid monthly. There was no overtime but if it was a good season sometimes received a bonus around $100.00. In those days the average wage of the key men was around $150-200 a month, and that included board and your fare up and down the coast. During the War worked from 6 am to 12 midnight with two half-hour breaks 6 days a week until the union came in. Believes the union was badly needed. Japanese evacuation during the War, and their poor treatment. Talks about changes in the cannery brought on by the health department, which he says was a lot tougher than the unions. Struggle to get union started. In Steveston before the big fire there were 23 canneries. Recalls the big fire in Steveston, 1928. Believes machinery put a lot of canneries out of business. Strike in Rivers Inlet in 1930. Remarks on fishing department. Processed herring during the War. Superintendent at Gulf of Georgia plant.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Inez and Kaarlo Huovinen RECORDED: [location unknown], 1976-02-05 SUMMARY: Both Inez and Kaarlo Huovinen have their own gillnetters. They began living in the Vancouver area in 1928, fished on the Skeena River and came to Finn Slough area in 1930. Bought $125.00 boat and put a model-T Ford engine in the boat. Came from Finland in 1924. Worked at logging in Ontario, then on the railway, then on the prairies harvesting, then logged when he first came to B.C. The Depression conditions. 1932 River was too low and lots of fish died at Hell's Gate. Fished 5 days a week. Modern gear is too efficient. Inez started fishing all on her own. Kaarlo owned 2 boats, and he wanted to sell one so she took it over with her son. So he put a high-speed motor in her boat and she caught as much as the men "Fish, you know, don't know who's in the boat, you see, as long as your net is right in the water". Discusses the strikes at Rivers Inlet 1930s. 1945 union included the cannery workers. He fished for the Phoenix Cannery on the Fraser. Names other canneries. There was a co-op cannery in Ladner. Lived in a fishermen's shack for 16 years at the present (1976) Crown Zellerback site. Moved to their present (1976) house in 1947. Japanese treatment during WWII as opposed to treatment of the Finns (Finland fought against the Allies), no government discrimination. Kaarlo tried to learn to speak Japanese but didn't. Discusses B.C.'s Finnish populations. Discusses nets. Inez fishes mostly in the river to "make ends meet" and operates the boat mostly by herself. Discusses the river. Discusses different unions. Discusses fishing seasons and sports fishing. Oscar Niemi lived on the Crown Zellerback site, and it was said that Oscar knows all the stumps and snags in the river from New Westminster to the mouth of the river. Discusses wildlife in Richmond, and its replacement with development. Discuss big changes in cannery work, used to be lots of people, now few people and lots of machines. The buy-back program is discussed and criticized.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Tom Johnson RECORDED: New Westminster (B.C.), [1976-02-27?] & 1976-03-05 SUMMARY: Tom Johnson started fishing in 1912 when he was living in Steveston. Moved to Rivers Inlet. There were no gas engines then, all fishing was done by hand in skiffs. Skiffs continued to be used up north into the 1930s. Around 1912, gillnetting was done at night as the fish could see the linen nets in the daytime. There was no market for pinks during WWI. Salmon fishing was done mostly by gillnets in 1914. In 1912, the companies owned all the nets. Each company had a painted cedar block attached to their net. He was part of the Pacific Coast Fishermen's Union in 1946. Discusses unions. Lived in cannery houses at Kildala. Describes living conditions of shacks provided by companies. Fishermen didn't own their nets until 1917. Remembers when Mike Davis got his own net. Powerboats arrived in Rivers Inlet around 1924. Talks about the progressive mechanization of the boats and its effects. Spent time as a fish collector. Discusses wages, hours, etc. Settled in Steveston for a while. Bought the Lulu Island Marina which his wife operated while he gillnetted during the summers. Worked in logging camps during the winter to make ends meet. He has been in the U.F.A.W.U. ever since it started. Remembers the big strike of 1936, when he was on the executive board, and discusses the strike in detail. Discusses race relations in the industry. He fished during both the World Wars. Discusses the Japanese internment during WWII. Relates prices of items in 1912. Feels that the fishing industry is in danger of extinction. He would like to see a provincial department of fisheries. [Interview is continued, although recorded on a different date 1976-03-05]. Shortage of fishermen during WWI as war plants needed the manpower. The price of fish jumped during War, then dropped following it, causing the strike. Discusses the impact and return of the Japanese fishermen following their internment. Discusses housing in Steveston in the 1920s. Role of women in fishing industry. 200 mile fishing limit.