If thousands of people packed into Steveston Harbour on a cold, wet Saturday morning sounds fishy to you, well, it is.
The crowds were in Richmond to take part in the annual Fishermen Helping Kids with Cancer herring sale, a charity event that raises tens of thousands of dollars for sick kids every year.
The annual event which has taken place since 2011, began to honour the memory of one B.C. fisherman’s teen daughter who lost her battle with the disease, said event coordinator Phil Eidsvik.
“A bunch of fishermen were sitting at a table saying, you know, we should do something for her. And another guy said no, lets do something for all kids.”
That first year, volunteers sold 30 tonnes of herring. The following year they sold 40 tonnes. Eidsvik said the sale now usually moves about 65 tonnes of fish.
All of the money goes to the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation, and because everything from fishing boats to fuel to volunteer labour is donated, every dollar goes to the children, according to Eidsvik.
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“So if somebody buys herring for $15, exactly $15 goes to sick kids,” he said.
WATCH: Large group of sea lions fight over herring with B.C. fishing boat
This year, Eidsvik said the event raised about $80,000 and sold approximately 50 tonnes of herring.
The sale has raised more than $100,000 in some years, and since it began in 2011, it has raised more than half a million dollars, Eidsvik said.
The money is used to buy things like iPads, video game systems, Netflix subscriptions to entertain the young patients, he added.
“It can be a miserable time in the hospital, and we’re trying to cheer up their day a little and distract them from the situation they’re in,” he said.
The group has about $350,000 in the bank already, Eidsvik said, which it plans to start spending now that major upgrades at the hospital have been completed.
“For all of us here it’s a great day. It’s the best thing I do all year.”
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