Bill Smith
Interviewed by Rod Mickelburgh
Bill Smith was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and grew up in Dallas, Texas. He moved to British Columbia in 1970 and subsequently spent more than 40 years working as a commercial fisherman in Prince Rupert and the North Coast. In this interview, he discusses his early years in the industry when it was still booming and his later years when the industry was in decline.
Keywords: Co-operatives and unions; Fisheries; First Nations; Gillnetting; Hal Banks; Henry van der Wiel; Licensing; Prince Rupert; Prince Rupert Ferry Blockade; Prince Rupert Fishermen’s Co-operative; Japanese Co-operative Trading; Native Brotherhood; Norm Iverson; Racism; Salmon and herring roe fisheries; Seals and sea lions; Shoreworkers Union; Sockeye salmon fishery; Solidarity; Strikes; Trolling; United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union; Vietnamese fishermen; Whales; Wooden boats