My name is Jon King, and I’m the latest intern at the Richmond News.
I grew up in Ottawa and spent the better part of my life confined to the nation’s capital city, where the air is frigid, and the people even colder. It’s a welcome change to experience the warmth of both the sun and the denizens here in B.C.
The latest assignment I worked on for the Newshad me going out to experience the city. I began at the same place many people start their day — a coffee shop, Waves on No. 3 Road at Westminster Highway.
I asked Dania, one of the baristas, where I should go in Richmond and off-the-bat she told me to go downtown. Surprise! I live in the West End of Vancouver, so her second choice was to direct me to Steveston, suggesting I go to a fish and chips place.
I hopped on the bus and set off for the small fishing community — which, I learned, is part of the City of Richmond — to find some photos and “one of the best fish and chips places in the country.”
Getting off the bus in Steveston was a big surprise. I had left the hustle and bustle of Vancouver and Richmond and was now in a quaint village with nautical and fishing trinkets littering the storefronts and streets.
I wandered around through the village, following the scent of ocean air and the salmon, halibut and cod.
After strolling up and down the docks, I found Pajo’s Fish and Chips and dug in.
Making my way past the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, I saw two fishermen weaving and repairing fishing nets for when they go out to sea during the summer.
“I’ve been working on the sea for years, but working on this here net for two days. We have a shed we go in when the weather’s crap, but today we’re outside!” chuckled fisherman Eric Abbott.
I ran into him as he and his coworker, Dick, cut out old parts of the aged green net and weaved in the shiny new cord to hold the salmon when the season starts.
“Another thing, when you get a 12-pound salmon, you gotta rip ‘em out! Sometimes they’ll take a bit of the net with ‘em too!” Abbott explained.
I followed the wharf around to Garry Point Park, and ran into another individual doing something...or nothing; Tristan Sumang was using a kite to parasail while riding an “all-terrain skateboard” complete with bindings and big, off-road tires.
“I’ve been at this for one and a half years, believe it or not.” Sumang said. “There’s less than 20 of us that get together sometimes, but they’re all working now.”
I made my way around Garry Point, one of the more beautiful parks I’ve been to, with the mountains making an excellent backdrop, contrasting with the sea and beach, littered with driftwood from up and down the coast.
I found myself back where I started, near the cannery and found another crew working on repairing fishing nets. This time, instead of laid out over stainless steel and chrome bars, the nets were coiled up on a spool and stitched from all different colours of net. Junior Radil was more than happy to explain what was going on this side of the wharf.
“I’m fourth generation here, I worked for B.C. Packers until it was sold and now I work for Canadian Fish [ a fishing company],” Radil explained.
It was family-owned, Radil said, but the family retired to Palm Beach. “Sucks for them!” he chuckled sarcastically.
I started on my way back to the office to file my story and photos, but not before I checked out the rest of the harbour and Francis van der Sande, who showed me his flash-frozen tuna haul from last September, caught around the Haida Gwaii archipelago.
“I’ve owned this boat for three years, worked as a fisherman for six years.” van der Sande said.
“I met the guy who owned the boat, and he offered me a summer job. It was April, so I said ‘sure!’ and I ended up buying the boat with a buddy and here we are.”
It was a successful assignment and an even better visit to Steveston. The warm, salty air of the west coast is as invigorating as it is addictive and when I tell people I’d like to stay here and never return to Ontario, they all say the same thing: “That’s what everyone says.”
