Even before its inauguration as a federal harbour, it served as a home to lumber and plywood mills and as a transportation route to mills farther up the river. In 1997 the North Fraser handled close to 20 million tonnes of inward and outward bound cargo. It is a major storage area for log rafts which supply raw material to the Fraser River mills. All fuelling operations are privately owned and are operated under conditions set down in lease agreements and in accordance with municipal regulations. Fuelling stations operated by Esso, Petro Canada and Chevron Canada are located on Sea Island and the Middle Arm.
Fuel is supplied to the stations by truck.
Towing Services and Barging Traffic in the North Fraser Harbour is composed of tug and barge or tug and log boom. This type of traffic has a long tradition in the North Fraser Harbour. The towboat industry performs a number of essential services to support overall marine operations within the harbour, and provides significant benefit to the forest products industry and coastal economy of British Columbia. There are five fish processing facilities located in the Harbour. There are also a small number of private mooring sites for fishing vessels located throughout the Harbour.