A group of local fishermen are giving back this summer, the best way they know how - by giving away salmon.
The Sooke Charter Boats Association (SCBA) and the Sooke Harbour Resort & Marina are teaming up to support the Sooke Food Bank, aiming to keep it stocked with fresh fish all year long.
"This time of year, every other year, we have a pink salmon run, and there's an excess of fish sometimes. We have people that, for whatever reason, don't want to take their whole catch and the food bank's always looking," said Mark Grant, a longtime charter fisherman, and representative of the SCBA, who explained that its a rare time where many fisherman end up with an excess that they don't want to see go to waste.
Fishermen can keep up to four salmon a day, which is often more than they need.
"Sometimes we'll take one or two for ourselves and the rest go to the food bank," said Grant.
This effort began during the last pink salmon run in the summer of 2023. The Sooke Harbour Resort helped by providing a space and freezer for the excess fish, which are cleaned up before they are donated to the food bank on Thursdays.
"The Sooke Harbour Resort has been really good," said Grant.
Tory Howes, another member of the SCBA, hopes that these efforts will bring a bit more attention to the fishery while also helping people out.
"You're not hearing too much about the fishery nowadays in Sooke, and this was our part to do a little bit more for the community," said Howes.
It's hard to know exactly how long the SCBA will continue to provide fish to the food bank in a season – that is really up to the fish.
"It's starting now because the pinks have showed up and it'll go through till whenever they disappear. Late August, early September," said Grant. Although with a large run expected this year, it could be longer.
Grant says it's a program that makes sense for everybody.
"We don't want to see [the fish] wasted," he said.
"It's an important fishery for us, so we got together with the marina and put the freezer in, and it's a win-win for everybody."
For Grant, who's been fishing in Sooke for decades, the act of giving away fish is only natural.
"I've always done it - giving people fish," said Grant.
"I've been doing this for 50 years, so it's nice to give back."
Howes explained that when they started the program, he had no idea how popular it would be.
"I didn't realize how many people actually needed it, you know, not everybody gets to eat the fish," said Howes, who's heard that people have been ecstatic about the opportunity to get some fish.
"The access to fresh fish like that – it just isn't there. So everybody's been pretty pumped."
