Opening of spot prawn season draws lineups of eager seafood lovers in Metro Vancouver

Eager seafood lovers across Metro Vancouver lined up this weekend as the spot prawn season was officially opened — a month later than it usually starts.

In a normal year, people would be able to get fresh spot prawns straight from fishermen in early May, but when restaurants shut down due to pandemic restrictions, the fishing season was delayed.

Fisherman Stewart McDonald was glad to see the delay hadn't deterred seafood customers when the season finally opened up this weekend.

"The crowds have been really heavy this weekend. A lot of people coming down to get prawns, it's been fantastic," he said.

The fishing boat captain fishes for prawns in the waters off the Sunshine Coast before returning to False Creek to sell his haul. He said lineups stretched for hours at Fisherman's Wharf this weekend. The lineups were similarly long at the docks in Steveston.

"We weren't really sure because people are used to buying in the first week of May," said McDonald. "People get excited for prawn season and you don't really know what the public's thinking. But there was a lot of information out there about prawns and the crowds came maybe more than ever."

Despite the crowds, McDonald said physical distancing measures were respected. "People stand six feet apart and they come down on the boat one at a time and it hasn't been [an issue]."

He says COVID-19 hasn't affected the supply or the price of spot prawns. This weekend, they were being sold for around $17 to $20 a pound.

The crustacean's popularity among seafood lovers isn't only due to its sweet taste, according to McDonald. "They're also sustainably harvested and people like the fishery itself. It's managed well, the stocks are abundant."

McDonald says now that the season has started, it will continue until scientists determine that a maximum biomass of prawn has been harvested for the season. The season will then close to keep stocks healthy and avoid over-fishing.