Words By Lena Mckenzie 2025-02-14 07:40:18
A FISHING FAMILY
The joys and challenges of running fishing business
“Before, I would work hard on the boat to take a break in the winter... Now, we go out fishing to take a break from life.”
The story of the Pacific Prowler fishing boat is the story of a fishing family. Every year, the vessel’s operators, Becky and Dane, head out to sea in search of Canada’s finest salmon, taking their three young children along for the journey. The trip serves as the backbone of their livelihood, but trolling for salmon is just one of the family’s many goals. They navigate up the coast of British Columbia in search of adventures and an alternative education, forming a deeper connection to their environment, their community, and to one another along the way.
GROWING UP AT SEA
The Pacific Prowler is a family-run fishing business based out of Salt Spring Island. Becky Acheson inherited the operation from her father, Chris Acheson, along with his reputation for catching exceptional wild with his reputation for catching exceptional wild fish. Fishing permeated Becky’s childhood. She learned the tricks of the trade at an early age and developed a love for exploring remote destinations while at sea. So, when she fell in love with Dane Orser, a cattle rancher from Alberta, Becky knew it would only be a matter of time before he joined her for an adventure on deck.
Shortly after the couple began dating, Dane agreed to spend a summer tuna fishing with Becky and her dad. The trio bobbed up and down in open-ocean swells for 50 days straight, unable to set foot on land for the entirety of their voyage. “I dragged my poor husband onboard,” Becky says with an apologetic laugh. But somewhere between Vancouver Island and Hawaii, Dane reeled in his first deep-sea fish and he, too, got hooked.
BALANCING WORK AND PLAY
Today, Becky and Dane are eager to share the rewards and responsibilities of a life at sea with their own offspring — now ages 6, 9, and 11. I visit their vessel as they prepare for their annual expedition to their fishing grounds in Haida Gwaii. “I’ve always loved being on the boat,” Becky says as we climb aboard. We walk inside the kitchen, referred to as the galley, which converts into a movie theatre at night. Then we descend into a freezer that spans the size of a small apartment, capable of storing 30,000 lbs of salmon at a time. “There are snacks for the fish and snacks for the kids,” Becky says, pointing out drawers of lures stacked A. above stashes of candy. Each spot on their vessel serves a dual purpose, functioning as both a workspace and a comfortable family dwelling. Maintaining this balance is crucial to their success.
On some days, they focus entirely on fishing — reeling in, cleaning, and deep-freezing salmon from dawn to dusk. On others, they paddleboard to shore or dive beneath the surface with their snorkels and masks. “The kids can only go five or six days on the boat without going crazy,” Becky says, so heading out on adventures is an essential part of their experience. Thanks to the knowledge passed down from Becky’s father and his friends, the family is able to navigate uncharted waters and anchor at stunning, deserted beaches. They rarely catch sight of other humans, but they are never far from a pod of whales or a family of bears.
HOW TO CATCH AND PRESERVE FRESH FISH
In between these adventures, Becky insists the kids learn about the fishing process—from tracking to preserving their catch. Their primary focus is catching spring salmon, also referred to as Chinook, which is widely regarded as the tastiest of all salmon species. Spring salmon is large, succulent, and rich in essential fatty acids. They aim to catch this coveted delicacy at the peak of its life cycle, just as it returns home from the open ocean and before it is weathered by the long journey down the coastline. They employ a method called trolling (not to be mistaken for trawling), in which each salmon is caught one-by-one using a single, barbless hook and line. This highly sustainable form of fishing has minimal impact on surrounding ocean life.
But there is no point in catching premium wild salmon if they cannot preserve its quality, so Becky also teaches her children the tricks to freezing fish onboard. “You want to freeze the fish before it goes through rigor mortis,” she explains. As soon as the salmon are reeled in, they are thoroughly bled, cleaned, and flash frozen at temperatures of at least –35°C. After the fish have frozen solid, they are glazed multiple times to prevent oxidation. Frozen-at-sea fish retains the texture, taste, and nutrient profile of freshly caught fish, producing what the industry refers to as “sashimi-grade” seafood. Once thawed, “they taste like you’ve just caught them,” Becky says.
THE JOYS OF FAMILY FISHING
They continue to fish through good weather and bad. Sometimes the seas are so rough that the kids are ordered to keep to their bunks while their parents continue to reel in fish on deck, but, for the most part, the family tackles each challenge as a team. “Once we get the kids into their rain gear, they get really into it,” Becky says. There is a celebratory atmosphere each time someone reels in a big catch and a collective sense of pride from watching the fruits of their labour populate their vessel. In between checking and sorting lines, the family dances to ’90s hip hop on deck. Free from the distractions of modern life, they revel in unencumbered silliness. “Before, I would work hard on the boat to take a break in the winter,” Becky says. “Now, we go out fishing to take a break from life.”
KEEPING THEIR CATCH LOCAL
When their coffers are filled, they return home to Salt Spring Island, where they sell their entire catch to the local community. The family decided to bypass conventional distribution channels after years of struggling to purchase premium local fish at the supermarket. “B.C. has a really good reputation for having high-quality food,” Becky says, but that reputation has come at a cost. Today, most of the seafood harvested in the province is exported internationally, and much of what’s left behind is second-grade fish. Despite their proximity to the ocean, many of Becky’s neighbours rarely consume local seafood. The Pacific Prowler team aims to change this. They believe every Islander should have the opportunity to taste the bounties of their surroundings.
As more of their neighbours taste the incomparable quality of wild, frozen-at-sea fish, the demand for their product increases. Pacific Prowler now sells wild salmon, tuna, and sablefish to communities on both Salt Spring Island and Vancouver Island. But at the end of the day, fishing with her family is Becky’s greatest joy. As I walk off the boat, the kids accompany me down the dock, regaling me with stories from their various fishing trips. They recall the time they rescued a family from a shipwreck and describe the sizes of the salmon they reeled in last season. Becky shudders at the memory of a bear that chased them along the shoreline and the sicknesses that appeared unexpectedly during a series of rough-weather passages. In between these stories, there is laughter, lots of it, and a palpable appreciation for the life they share on the high seas.
Fishing with children adds an additional challenge to an already demanding undertaking, but Becky and Dane wouldn’t have it any other way. At sea, their kids have developed invaluable life skills and a mature understanding of their environment. “They have a really good work ethic,” Becky adds, explaining how her eldest can’t wait to head back on board after spending the winter on land. But most importantly, Becky loves how the experience has strengthened their bond as a family. All the moments spent in close quarters, working side by side toward a shared goal, have fostered a unique connection between Becky and her kids. “It’s very important to go out to sea and have our family time,” Becky says. “We all just end up having fun together.”
Lena McKenzie is a writer, mother, and musician with a passion for the way food shapes culture and community. She grew up eating fresh seafood on the shores of the Philippine Islands and has travelled the world extensively, enjoying local delicacies at every destination. Today, she writes about people, food, and art from her home on Salt Spring Island.
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