Unosuke Sakamoto

A member of the Japanese Fisherman's Liaison Committee during the sale of fishing vessels. Interviewed in the 1970s by the BC archives and quoted at length in Steveston Recollected. Known connection to Kishizo Kimura - Unosuke Sakamoto (born June 14, 1903; died January 28, 1985) was an Issei fisherman. Before WWII, Sakamoto lived in Vancouver, Steveston, and Japan. He fished 45 years in the Fraser River for Co-op, Scotch Cannery and Canfisco. Interned in Minto Mine, he worked in a sawmill as a logger before returning to coast in 1949. (Source: Kimura Appendix)

A Unosuke Sakamoto is listed as one of the Japanese-Canadian fishing boat owners whose boat was seized by the Custodian in 1942. Sakamoto owned a gill-netter worth $925.00. There is no sale information for his boat. However, written across his record is a note stating that the "registered owner" of his boat was BC Packers, not Sakamoto. Presumably, once government authorities realized this, the boat reverted back to the ownership of BC Packers without being sold. Sakamoto's address is listed as Claxton Cannery, Skeena River, BC. He also owned a boat known as "U.S.," which was another gill-netter sold to Canfisco for 1150 on May 8, 1942. In this case, Sakamoto's address is listed as "Steveston, B.C."