The Salt Spring Island Fish Market

Fresh Seafood & Friendly Service Since 1992

Committed to wild-only salmon products, The Fishery has delivered fresh seafood and friendly service since 1992. The owner, Arnie Hengstler, is a commercial fisherman from a family of fishermen. He started selling his fresh catch in the Saturday Market in 1972. By 1992, he & his wife, Julia, opened The Fishery seafood market on Salt Spring Island with partners, John & Verna Elliott. Arnie & Julia assumed sole ownership of the store in 1995, branching out into their own gourmet line of seafood products. Arnie continues to fish for salmon and live crab in order to deliver you the freshest and highest quality seafood.

About the Owner, Arnie Hengstler

Arnie Hengstler grew up in Richmond, BC, close to Steveston--a historic port for salmon fishing. In fact, our canned fish is now sold in the historic Gulf of Georgia Cannery Gift Shop. Arnie spent many hours on his father, Kurt's, fishing boats. While he fished for others in early years, by the age of 15 Arnie skippered the 20 ft. African Queen to fish salmon in and around the Fraser River--pulling his net in by hand. At 19 years old , Arnie built his own fibreglass boat with Kurt, his father, & older brother, Ray. While Kurt built a more convetional stern-picker boat with the net pulled on to a drum at the stern, both Arnie & Ray built bow-pickers.

Arnie still fishes salmon on Mahalo Kai--the boat he built with his father--but he now also catches crab aboard The Crab Dancer.
The method for crabbing is very different from how Arnie catches salmon--a method called gillnetting.