Normally at this time of year, Jason Assonitis’ charter business would be going full bore, taking sport fishers onto the waters of the Salish Sea to catch early season Chinook salmon.
April to June are some of Bon Chovy Charters’ busiest months. This year, his three boats have sat idle, shut down by the novel coronavirus pandemic. “In the two-month period of the closure, I believe we grossed about $50,” Assonitis told Global News. “It’s been pretty hard to run a business, keep employees on the payroll, operate all this equipment, moorage, rent, all that kind of thing.
It was worrisome.” According to the industry, sport fishing is worth about a billion dollars per year to B.C.’s economy and employs about 6,000 people.