We are currently in the midst of spot prawn season. A delicious time that brings local and tourists alike to Steveston Village, in Richmond. And today we were such visitors, spending the day learning about what makes this authentic fishing village a one of a kind destination and how they are celebrating this popular season.
Spot Prawn and Seafood Dine About takes place from May 16 – June 14, 2026. This is an event designed to highlight the attention that spot prawn draws, and to use this platform as a way to highlight Steveston’s history and is current businesses. To celebrate, a handful of restaurants are offering limited time only spot prawn dishes, prepared using the very catch that Steveston’s local fisherman bring in the day off.
Our crawl started near Britannia Shipyards, sharing highlights of Steveston’s history and its evolution from Canada’s largest commercial fishing port.
We began at Seine Net Loft, built in the 1950’s. This building was once used for the construction and repair of large seine nets used for fishing. It is now home to exhibits that showcase innovations to the fishing industry, with the seine fishing nets hung from the vaulted ceiling. The space closes in June for restorative renovations, and in its place Britannia’s historic shipyard will open in July. The shipyards was once a cannery, then where they rebuilt ships, but will now serve as the home to above mentioned exhibits.
We learned how the area was once rich in salmon, but due to over fishing, unsustainable practices, and depleting runs, the fishermen had to pivot. They went from salmon to herring, then spot prawns as a sustainable and focused season. Currently there is only one cannery left open in Nanaimo, after the other 100 shut down.
We took advantage of the sunny day and walked the dock, along the coastal path towards Steveston Wharf. There, we met Fisherman Reed and got a live, dockside spot prawn demonstration, featuring the very prawns that he caught fresh that morning. He even prepared a plate sashimi style for our tour group to try with soy sauce. And as a volunteer assistant I got to peel and eat my own spot prawn on the spot.
From here we walked to three of the eleven restaurants participating in Dine About to try their feature dishes. At Steveston Seafood House we had their Spot Prawn Ceviche with red pepper and cucumber, sitting in citrus. This is ideal for those who don’t like the texture of raw seafood, but want their prawns as fresh as possible.
This we enjoyed with a complimentary Peach basil whiskey smash that was refreshing with herbs.
If we are talking about history, it is worth mentioning that Steveston Seafood House has been open and operating for 49 years, with the same Chef for 45 of them.
Our second stop was Catch Kitchen + Bar for their Sizzling Spot Prawn Skillet, against their second floor walk up view of the ocean and dock. This was fresh spot prawns sautéed with butter, garlic, herbs, and white wine; served with focaccia bread. There is only one way to eat this, all hands in. Peeling the shells off the tails, and sucking the guts and sauces from the heads. Each so tasty that we licked our fingers clean and then used the bread to scrape the skillet clean as well.
Our third and last stop was CHJ Bistro, known for their Taiwanese night market street foods. Today we tried their Spot Prawn & Seafood Vermicelli. This is authentic Taiwanese mee sua with silky vermicelli in a savoury broth alongside squid, mussels, and Steveston spot prawns. I think we got to the bowl a little late. and as a result the noodles were fat and the soup gummy. It had a musky pepperiness that I was not familiar with. Another attendee said it was normal and just needed some vinegar to cut into it. I didn’t like it and left it. Although the cup of sweet winter melon tea did help a little in this regard, as it is known to aid in balancing the system from fried and fatty foods.
I did however like the black pepper fried shrimp and the ones that were set up erect surrounding a mound of sauced vermicelli. Both were wonderful ways to enjoy spot prawns.
This festival was first created to celebrate spot prawns two years ago and it highlights something really unique about Richmond. The festival also includes a Spot Prawn Day on Fisherman’s Wharf. This is a family friendly event that has cooking demos and live entertainment. Event organizers will also be hosting a long table dinner in the lane way, behind the Gulf of Georgia Cannery. Guests will be seated surrounded by art installations, enjoying spot prawn centric dishes. Tickets for this unique dinner went on sale a day before our visit.
