Haysport is the site of a historical community and salmon cannery on the north shore of the Skeena River adjacent to the Grand Trunk Railroad, about 61 miles (100 km) southwest of Terrace and 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The word “Skeena” derives from the Tsimshian name “K’shian,” meaning “divide.” The lower Skeena flows through the Coast Mountains, composed of granitic rocks formed during the Cretaceous period, creating steep slopes. Most habitable land lies along the river, where tidal sandbars develop, although these frequently flood at high river flows. The Massey & Freer Company of Vancouver purchased 260 acres (105 ha) in 1909 and established the Haysport townsite in 1910. The company built a hotel, cold storage facility, store, and post office, naming the town after Charles Hays, president of the Grand Trunk Railroad. In 1913, electric power was generated from a hydroelectric plant on the Ecstall River, and the cannery was built in 1919. Until 1924, cannery tugs towed fleets of sailboats daily to the fishing grounds. When gas-powered boats were legalized, mobility improved, allowing salmon to be intercepted farther offshore. Technological advancements and the industrialization of fish processing soon led to overfishing, prompting the implementation of regulations that ultimately determined the fate of the Skeena River canneries. By the 1930s, the commercial salmon fishery had moved away from the Skeena River, presumably for conservation reasons, and fishing in the river became illegal. Gradually, the canneries fell into disuse, and the Haysport cannery closed in 1939. The post office shut in 1963. Today, all that remains of Haysport are the numerous pilings that once supported the cannery, a 0.25-mile (400-m) boardwalk onshore, and remnants of the old town scattered throughout the adjacent forest.

For thousands of years, the Tsimshian people, meaning “people of the Skeena,” have lived along the river. The Tsimshian are comprised of the Nisga’a on the Nass River, the Southern Tsimshian on the coast and islands, the Gitxsan on the Upper Skeena, and the Coast Tsimshian on the lower Skeena. Ten groups of Coast Tsimshian had winter villages on the lower Skeena River. In late prehistoric times, they extended their territories toward the coast and built new villages on the islands, where the weather was milder. They returned to the Skeena in the summers for salmon fishing. The Southern Tsimshian were the first to be contacted by Europeans. In 1787, Captain Charles Duncan on the Princess Royal and James Colnett on the Prince of Wales visited what was likely the village of Kitkatla. Colnett believed they were the first Europeans seen by the villagers, although the villagers already had trade goods. In 1792, Spanish explorer Captain Jacinto Caamaño on the Aranzazu visited the village Ksidiya’ats on Pitt Island. In 1793, Captain George Vancouver was among the first Europeans to visit the mouth of the Skeena River. The documented history of the Tsimshian began in 1831 with the establishment of the Hudson’s Bay Company trading post at Fort Simpson on the Nass River. Many Coast Tsimshian relocated near the fort. However, the arrival of missionaries brought greater cultural changes to the Tsimshian. Settlers started arriving in the 1860s and 1870s. In 1876, the first salmon cannery was built along the Skeena River at Inverness. By 1926, the number of canneries had increased to 15. The industry sought the labor of local Tsimshian, leading to the development of a monetary culture. Many Tsimshian spent summers in company housing at the canneries, working for wages.

Pacific salmon have long been a vital food source around the shores of the North Pacific Ocean. Before Euro-American settlement, Native peoples used them for food and barter. Five species of salmon and steelhead, an anadromous trout, spawn in the Skeena River. The most numerous are pink and sockeye salmon, followed by coho, Chinook, and chum. Sockeye spawn in over 50 lakes, rivers, and streams throughout the Skeena River watershed. The Babine Lake system is the primary sockeye producer, accounting for 90% or more of Skeena spawners. Sockeye are concentrated in larger rivers with suitable nursery lakes at their headwaters. The Skeena is second only to the Fraser River in Canada for sockeye production, and sockeye are the most valuable Pacific salmon. They constitute about 30% of the number and 50% of the value of salmon caught from the Skeena River. Pink salmon are also important, though recent catches have declined. Chinook and coho are significant in the fresh and frozen markets, while the chum salmon catch is small and of little importance in the Skeena River. Advances in fishing and handling methods over the past century have transformed salmon into a vital natural resource for a major industry. However, in the last 40 years, some fish species have declined, prompting strict commercial fishing regulations. In British Columbia, the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans manages all salmon fisheries, while the Province of British Columbia’s Fisheries Branch oversees steelhead. Given that most returning Skeena steelhead are caught in the sockeye fishery, federal and provincial agencies must collaborate to manage both stocks effectively. Skeena sockeye are also intercepted in Southeast Alaska fisheries, which are managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Thus, US management actions impact Skeena River salmon populations as well. Read more here and here. Explore more of Haysport and the Skeena River here: