Wild Pacific salmon
IngredientJul to Nov
Wild Pacific salmon suits anyone who wants the fish British Columbia is famous for, and menus from Lower Lonsdale to Steveston cook it all year. Winter visitors miss the fresh runs, because the Steveston Harbour Authority lists sockeye on its sales float from July to September and chum to November.
Photo ppacificvancouver · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Where to eat Wild Pacific salmon · 5 places
- Salmon n' Bannock
The restaurant at 1128 West Broadway serves wild sockeye and candied smoked chum, and it says all its fish is wild.
- Fisherman's Wharf, StevestonSteveston
Fishers sell sockeye here from July to September and chum from July to November.
On the public sales float at Steveston's Fisherman's Wharf, the Harbour Authority lists sockeye from July to September and pink salmon in July and August. Chum runs from July to November. Coho fishing there is limited and varies from year to year, and some years it doesn't open at all. Authentic Indigenous Seafood is a cooperative of Indigenous fisheries, and Destination Vancouver points to its maple-smoked and candied wild chinook at Meinhardt Fine Foods and Snack City on Granville Island.
Fishworks in Lower Lonsdale had BC wild sockeye on its October 2026 dinner menu twice. It torches the fish for a starter with avocado and wraps it in phyllo for a Wellington with pistachio pesto. Over in Steveston, Britannia Brewing puts clams and wild sockeye in its chowder, and Blue Canoe bakes sockeye with a honey glaze. Up in Squamish, the Salted Vine sets BC sockeye on ricotta gnocchi with beurre blanc.
Salmon n' Bannock on West Broadway calls itself Vancouver's only Indigenous restaurant, and it says every fish it serves is wild and caught off the BC coast. Its Fiss n' Rice lays a 6 oz wild sockeye on Ojibway wild rice with brown butter, and candied smoked chum comes as a starter. At Tojo's, the Shiawase omakase bakes wild Pacific salmon en papillote with Kyoto miso.
The Nation's own pages say the ancestors of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) have lived throughout the Fraser River estuary and stewarded it for thousands of years. Musqueam's fisheries department works to protect the Nation's inherent fishing rights under the Supreme Court's Sparrow ruling. Ottawa has also set a date for fish farms. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will ban open net-pen salmon farming in BC coastal waters by 30 June 2029, and it presents the ban as protection for wild Pacific salmon.
Worth knowing
- Ask whether the salmon is wild when a menu doesn't say, because open net-pen farms can operate in BC waters until 30 June 2029.
- Leave the Capilano River Hatchery off a winter plan, because Metro Vancouver says it closed to the public from 1 October 2026.
- Buy smoked or candied wild chinook from Authentic Indigenous Seafood at Meinhardt Fine Foods or Snack City on Granville Island to take home.
Quick answers about Wild Pacific salmon
Can you buy fresh wild salmon in Vancouver in winter?
No, not fresh off the boats. The Steveston Harbour Authority lists sockeye on its sales float from July to September and chum from July to November. In winter, look for smoked or candied wild chinook from Authentic Indigenous Seafood in Granville Island shops.
Where can you eat wild salmon in North Vancouver?
Fishworks at 91 Lonsdale Avenue in Lower Lonsdale torched BC wild sockeye for a starter and wrapped it in phyllo for a Wellington on its October 2026 dinner menu.
Is open net-pen salmon farming banned in BC?
No, not yet. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will ban open net-pen salmon farming in British Columbia's coastal waters by 30 June 2029.
How do you order Wild Pacific salmon?
Ask for the species and whether the fish is wild. Sockeye came up most on the Vancouver menus we read in October 2026, and smoked or candied salmon makes a gift to carry home.