Explore Steveston Village’s Latest Attraction: Fishers Walk

Launched in Summer 2025, Fishers Walk is a roughly one-kilometre self-guided walk in Steveston that connects Fisherman’s Wharf to Garry Point Park via a transformed walkway, featuring 10 engaging stops with interpretive signs. Designed to appeal to all ages, the walk is made possible through a collaboration between Tourism Richmond and the Steveston Harbour Authority, and brings to life the stories of the people behind Steveston’s fishing industry, making it a meaningful link between two of the village’s most popular spots.

Blending historical and modern photos, punchy infographics and quirky fish facts, each stop offers a deeper look into the realities of today’s fishers: what they catch and when, the equipment they rely on and the risks they take to bring seafood to our tables.

Stop #1

To kick off your walk, head to Stop #1, found just beneath the iconic blue Fisherman’s Wharf sign. A panel sets the stage for Steveston’s development as a community, serving up a timeline that begins in 1877. Learn about key moments through to the 2000s and beyond, including how the village got its name from Manoah Steves, the first European settler to build a homestead here. At this stop, you’ll also find a trail guide, showing the locations of all the stops ahead so you can chart your own course through the walk.

Stop #2

Stop #2, located along the boardwalk, dives into the heartbeat of Steveston: its commercial fishing fleet. With over 400 vessels, it’s Canada’s largest small craft harbour. A colourful infographic breaks down the fleet by type, including seiners, trawlers, trappers and trollers, explaining what each is built to catch and how to recognize them. There’s also a behind-the-scenes checklist showing how fishers prep for the season, from mending nets to waxing the hull of the vessel.

Stop #3

As you continue down the boardwalk, Stop #3 serves up some eye-opening numbers that show just how active Steveston is as a fishing hub, like how many pounds of spot prawns are pulled from B.C. waters each year, and how many traps a licensed prawner can set.

Stop #4

Stop #4 brings you right up to the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site, where the spotlight is on drum seining, a fishing method developed right here in the region that helped shape modern commercial fishing. Rather than hauling in a seine net by hand or using a power block, fishers began using a rotating drum mounted on the boat to reel it in, making the process faster and far less labour-intensive.

Stop #5

Situated in the walkway leading toward Garry Point Park, Stop #5 features a bold infographic highlighting 21 different species, from sablefish to red sea urchins and red sea cucumbers, offering a month-by-month look at when each one is typically caught. It’s a snapshot of the fishing industry’s seasonality, shaped by factors like fish migration and spawning cycles. A large map of B.C.’s south coast also pinpoints where some of the most commonly caught species are found.

Stop #6

Stop #6 spans four panels filled with fun facts and bite-sized stats about some of the harbour’s most familiar catches, including spot prawns, salmon, sea urchin and herring. You’ll learn how long halibut can grow, how many eggs a crab lays in a season and the average lifespan and population size of various species in B.C. waters, offering a quick glimpse into the diversity of our local marine life.

Stop #7 & #8

Stops #7 and #8 dive into the scale and depth of commercial fishing, spotlighting how massive both the equipment and the catch can be. Learn how sablefish boats are built to carry over 100,000 pounds of fish, and how urchin divers haul up bags that can hold as much as 250 pounds of sea urchins at a time. To show how deep fishers go to bring in the day’s catch, there’s also a chart featuring more than 20 species, including sole, flounder and sockeye salmon, along with the typical depths where they’re found, measured in fathoms.

Stop #9

Stop #9 sits just outside Cantrawl Nets, a family-run operation that designs and builds a variety of trawls. This stop invites you to peer through the windows and catch a glimpse of the process in action. Alongside are photos that walk you through the craft, and you’ll also learn what happens to these massive nets once they’ve reached the end of their working life.

Stop #10

Stop #10, located just outside Garry Point Park, wraps up the interpretive walk with a look at one of the most important skills in fishing: reading the sky, wind and waves to decide when it’s safe to head out and when it’s time to call it a day. Being able to read the elements also helps fishers track fish movements, which can make all the difference in a day’s catch. This stop also invites you to peek behind a fence to spot equipment commonly used on the water, including traps and pallets. And for a playful finish, there’s a section dedicated to fishing lingo, with over 30 phrases to help you talk like a fisher.

More to Come

Much like the story of Steveston’s fishing industry, Fishers Walk is still unfolding. This is just phase one of the experience, with more installations set to arrive in August, so keep checking back to dig even deeper into the industry that continues to shape this community.

And while you’re taking it all in, why not snap a photo for a chance to win? To celebrate the launch, Tourism Richmond is hosting a Fishers Walk Photo Contest. Share your favourite detail or moment from the walk and you could win a $50 Pajo’s Fish & Chips gift card, some exclusive Fishers Walk swag, and a feature on our digital channels. Learn more about how to enter here.

Last Updated on September 24, 2025 by Tourism Richmond