Licensing

Fishing - Fishing boat, Steveston, B.C.

Scores of Canneries were jammed along the mouth of the Fraser River of British Columbia because of the abundance of salmon during the 1800s and 1900s. Many Japanese migrated from Wakayama-ken to the village of Steveston, the centre of the Canneries. The Cannery owners welcomed the Japanese newcomers and offered to loan them boats and provided bunkhouses as living quarters. Many of the Japanese were granted limited fishing licenses and owned their own boats.