The best part of spot prawn season, according to Reid Thornton, is the "tight-knit" community.
Now in his fifth season, the 21-year-old Steveston resident started working in the industry fresh out of high school.
"I was introduced to it through a friend, and I've loved it ever since," Thornton told the Richmond News.
Thornton is the sales manager and a deckhand at Steveston Spot Prawns & Seafood. With the exception of Thornton himself, most employees in the company are third-generation Japanese-Canadian fishermen.
"It's such a cool job. You're outside, you're on the ocean," he said.
"You get to interact with so many people from the community and see a lot of familiar faces, make new friends. I pretty much know everybody down at the docks now, which is so cool."
Many of Thornton's customers are repeat customers, with some regulars stopping by every single day during the short spot prawn season.
Looking back at his first season, Thornton said it "feels like it was yesterday."
He had heard of spot prawns prior to starting his job, but he had no idea about the extent of its popularity.
"I remember coming down (to the docks) and just seeing the lineup and going, 'Wow, that's a lot of people.' And the line was there the entire day," Thornton recalled.
"Everyone's just so happy to get their spot prawns, and it's awesome. People come from all over the Lower Mainland to Steveston to get the spot prawns."
Supporting local fishermen
Thornton told the News spot prawns have continued to grow in popularity over the years, attributing the success to social media and word of mouth.
"Social media is obviously huge for our company, and it's huge for pretty much every other company as well," explained Thornton, who is in charge of Steveston Spot Prawns & Seafood's social media.
"Just because of how fast you can share information, news updates... and (gain) popularity because it's so easy to repost the story on Instagram nowadays."
He added he was thankful to local customers for their continued support.
"None of this would be possible without returning customers and new customers," said Thornton.
Thornton, who stops by the docks even on his days off, is hoping to stay in the industry for a "long time."
"What I really like about it is that fishing here in Steveston, it's a sustainable fishery. We do our best to take care of the oceans," he explained, adding he also enjoys working with his team, describing them as "really dedicated" and "really friendly."
"I'm fortunate that (the docks are) so close... I was born and raised in Steveston (for) 21 years. So I like to be involved with the community for sure."
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