Namu is a small fishing port, former cannery town and First Nations community on the coast of British Columbia, Canada.[1] It is located about 95 km (59.0 mi) southwest of Bella Coola or 35 km (21.7 mi) SSE of Bella Bella, on the mainland shore of the Inside Passage ferry route directly opposite Hunter Island, and just south of the opening of Burke Channel and King Island. After BC Packers consolidated their operations in the 1950s, this they did by closing many smaller outlying canneries,and consolidating them into three main bases--of Steveston, Namu, and Prince Rupert. Also, the arrival of ice plants and brine tanks on seiners meant that the previous method of fishing, whereby the handliners had to be within an hour's row or the cannery in order to prevent the fish from spoiling, furthered the shrinking of the canning outports. Namu became a large fishing camp with iceplant, salmon and herring packing lines, bunkhouses, wharves, hydroplant and fuel facilities. The large canning plants were being demolished in the 1980s. The community's harbour is named Namu Harbour,[2] and a large lake just inland is Namu Lake,[3] which lies in the short drainage basin of the 15km Namu River,[4] immediately east of which is the small but rugged Namu Range.[5]
Namu was the namesake of the killer whale Namu, who was captured nearby and was the second orca displayed in captivity.[6]
