Trudeau always talks about jobs,jobs,jobs...do the numbers for the salmon guides...First they have a capital investment in a boat,likely $100,000 up( you can’t run a guiding business out of a 16’ trailer boat ) that boat has to be maintained,repaired ,replaced,insured,moored before you even leave the dockand then there’s gear,bait and gas once you do leave the dock. Now consider you have about 6-8 weeks out of 52 to actually get clients out on the water( August and September( October used to be traditional coho but by the time we had an opening,the coho had all come through.Sockeye is the same,by the time you got an opening,the fish had gone through.Winter spring used to provide a pretty consistent fishery,but last year off sooke that was a bust,virtually no fish.Halibut,when you can get out is restricted to one fish....period .
so let’s assume the salmon guide runs two charters every day,seven days a week for his prime time,eight weeks. Each trip he charges $300-350,times two,$600-700 a day, for 8 weeks, for a maximum of $48,000 - $56,000 for the season....that’s MAXIMUM ,no days off, no bad weather that keeps him at the dock, no time off period and assuming he can book 100%of his time(nobody can)
this means the guy can’t even pay his expenses and break even,even if he works for NOTHING
Jobs,jobs,jobs...what jobs? Not in the salmon fishing charter business....the numbers just aren’t there ....(ok,maybe he can take people out to watch the seals,at least there’s plenty of them...
the guy I chartered with for 20 years has sold his boat,his house and moved away.The tackle shop in a Sooke has folded..how many more will follow?....Jobs,jobs jobs?
Last edited by ratherbefishin; 05-06-2019 at 11:19 AM.
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