HERRING FOR FARMED FISH FOOD ????

[fishingbc]

Dear editor,

First off, I would like to congratulate the Comox Valley Record for publishing the two letters to the editor submitted regarding halibut, herring and seals, all of which are serious issues facing the economy on Vancouver Island.

North Island MP John Duncan fully supports the ridiculous, unworkable and unconstitutional gift of 88 per cent of the coast-wide halibut quota handed to the commercial sector some years ago.

Despite the massive negative effect on the whole of Vancouver Island’s and, for that matter, the entire west coast of B.C.’s economy, Mr. Duncan flatly refuses to believe that this Halibut Allocation Framework, especially in these tough economic times, impacts those who live in his riding.

The multi-billion-dollar-a-year sports fishing industry supports thousands of Vancouver Island residents and businesses, and also brings in many times the dollars of the entire commercial sector. Time and time again this valuable economic driver has taken the back seat to commercial fishing interests.

The current halibut situation is nothing short of a theft of a common public resource given to a few hundred licence holders who, for the most part, lease out these valuable commodities, never setting foot on a fishing vessel.

Mr. Duncan’s unwavering support of the commercial fishing sector (as well as fish farming) should be called into question.

The annual commercial herring roe fishery is about to take place right in our own back yard, and with the herring stocks dwindling to near-collapse, and DFO supporting another Jimmy Pattison-controlled commercial fishery, when will the public finally speak up to end the foolish harvest?

This valuable resource was fished last year with two years’ worth of herring roe still sitting in Vancouver waiting to be sold. It would be nice to find out what Mr. Pattison received for his low-quality, undersized herring roe and what it was actually used for.

Net sizes have been reduced year after year to catch what is left, mainly two-year-old herring. Long gone are all other age classes of herring (up to 12-year-old). Harvesting the roe from these tiny two-year-old herring at eight-to-10-per-cent egg mass instead of the recommended or industry standard of 14 per cent is nothing short of mindless.

This fishery is run out of our local Comox DFO office. Anyone who spends any time on the water trying to catch a salmon, or wonders why our salmon stocks, both local and those migrating through our waters, are at historically low levels needs to look no further afield than what will happen over the next few weeks right under our noses.

Tom Downton,

Courtenay

 

[fish4all]

quote:The annual commercial herring roe fishery is about to take place right in our own back yard, and with the herring stocks dwindling to near-collapse, and DFO supporting another Jimmy Pattison-controlled commercial fishery, when will the public finally speak up to end the foolish harvest?

Does anyone know how much herring was in the gulf this year. From what I understand they had incredible fishing and lots of herring around... things are looking up.

 

[fishingbc]

quote:Originally posted by fish4all

quote:The annual commercial herring roe fishery is about to take place right in our own back yard, and with the herring stocks dwindling to near-collapse, and DFO supporting another Jimmy Pattison-controlled commercial fishery, when will the public finally speak up to end the foolish harvest?

Does anyone know how much herring was in the gulf this year. From what I understand they had incredible fishing and lots of herring around... things are looking up.

ya lots of herring....mostly two and three year olds....if you think things are looking up then where are all the other ages of herring....they used to harvest 7-10 year olds....herring used to max out at around 14 years ....the samples I saw could have been put into anchovy teaser heads....

 

[fish4all]

quote:Originally posted by fishingbc

quote:Originally posted by fish4all

quote:The annual commercial herring roe fishery is about to take place right in our own back yard, and with the herring stocks dwindling to near-collapse, and DFO supporting another Jimmy Pattison-controlled commercial fishery, when will the public finally speak up to end the foolish harvest?

Does anyone know how much herring was in the gulf this year. From what I understand they had incredible fishing and lots of herring around... things are looking up.

ya lots of herring....mostly two and three year olds....if you think things are looking up then where are all the other ages of herring....they used to harvest 7-10 year olds....herring used to max out at around 14 years ....the samples I saw could have been put into anchovy teaser heads....

Where did you see the samples? I was out there during the gillnet fishery and it was the biggest fishing seen in years. Also the people I spoke with were using legal nets that catch the older fish. From what I understand DFO had no idea of what was out there and the few seine tests were not representitive of what is in the area. Cheer up big fish and lots of it is good news to all.....except those that are still looking to point fingers at the decline in salmon..

 

[hali hunter]

definetely nice sized fish best size average i've had in the last 5 years spawn had to be 5 miles long

 

[fishingbc]

quote:Originally posted by fish4all

quote:Originally posted by fishingbc

quote:Originally posted by fish4all

quote:The annual commercial herring roe fishery is about to take place right in our own back yard, and with the herring stocks dwindling to near-collapse, and DFO supporting another Jimmy Pattison-controlled commercial fishery, when will the public finally speak up to end the foolish harvest?

Does anyone know how much herring was in the gulf this year. From what I understand they had incredible fishing and lots of herring around... things are looking up.

ya lots of herring....mostly two and three year olds....if you think things are looking up then where are all the other ages of herring....they used to harvest 7-10 year olds....herring used to max out at around 14 years ....the samples I saw could have been put into anchovy teaser heads....

Where did you see the samples? I was out there during the gillnet fishery and it was the biggest fishing seen in years. Also the people I spoke with were using legal nets that catch the older fish. From what I understand DFO had no idea of what was out there and the few seine tests were not representitive of what is in the area. Cheer up big fish and lots of it is good news to all.....except those that are still looking to point fingers at the decline in salmon..

a;; the boats have to use legal nets, whats your point....the fish taken by the gillnet fleet were still only three year old fish....call DFO Comox or speak with anyone who knows the facts....if DFO has no idea why are they fishing it....the fish taken by the seine fleet, the majority of the catch, was much smaller....mainly two year old fish with little or no viable roe.....if DFO takes 20% of the biomass and don't have a clue whats out there, is that smart management of a resource....if you know what was the price of the roe for the last two years and why was it still in Vancouver up until December of 08.....its too small....poor quality and no market for it, at least for the market it was harvested for....not to be ground up for other markets....what do you think salmon eat in the strait...sure isn't fish pellets....the finger has been pointed to this fishery for years...

 

[fish4all]

quote:a;; the boats have to use legal nets, whats your point....the fish taken by the gillnet fleet were still only three year old fish....call DFO Comox or speak with anyone who knows the facts....if DFO has no idea why are they fishing it....the fish taken by the seine fleet, the majority of the catch, was much smaller....mainly two year old fish with little or no viable roe.....if DFO takes 20% of the biomass and don't have a clue whats out there, is that smart management of a resource....if you know what was the price of the roe for the last two years and why was it still in Vancouver up until December of 08.....its too small....poor quality and no market for it, at least for the market it was harvested for....not to be ground up for other markets....what do you think salmon eat in the strait...sure isn't fish pellets....the finger has been pointed to this fishery for years...

wow no sunny skies for you I see.

1) there was no roe left in our freezers last year. The buyers paid more for roe last year then the year before. Also it was the first year Japan didn't grade by size as there was great demand for the product.

2) The buyers have already been here asking about product because again the demand is there.

3)No it is not smart to run any fishery without proper numbers (including the sports fishery). Like all fisheries here the budget has been slashed and dfo no longer is able to do proper surveys.

4) because dfo had no real idea what was in the area the seine fishery was opened way to early and yes that did cause them to have lower quality this year.

5) low percentage in herring is often related more to the male/female count then the size or age of the fish.

6) most of the herring leave the gulf and sit in San Juan or go up the straights. If you think that salmon that are out in the ocean for 4 years and make it here drop dead because they starve to death in the last 2 weeks of the journey your nuts.

7) the big picture is that there was more herring this year than expected...way more and that is coast wide. Barkly sound up, Esperanza up, Central coast up, Prince Rupert up. So stop tying to shut down fisheries you obviously know very little about.

 

[fishingbc]

quote:Originally posted by fish4all

quote:a;; the boats have to use legal nets, whats your point....the fish taken by the gillnet fleet were still only three year old fish....call DFO Comox or speak with anyone who knows the facts....if DFO has no idea why are they fishing it....the fish taken by the seine fleet, the majority of the catch, was much smaller....mainly two year old fish with little or no viable roe.....if DFO takes 20% of the biomass and don't have a clue whats out there, is that smart management of a resource....if you know what was the price of the roe for the last two years and why was it still in Vancouver up until December of 08.....its too small....poor quality and no market for it, at least for the market it was harvested for....not to be ground up for other markets....what do you think salmon eat in the strait...sure isn't fish pellets....the finger has been pointed to this fishery for years...

wow no sunny skies for you I see.

1) there was no roe left in our freezers last year. The buyers paid more for roe last year then the year before. Also it was the first year Japan didn't grade by size as there was great demand for the product.

2) The buyers have already been here asking about product because again the demand is there.

3)No it is not smart to run any fishery without proper numbers (including the sports fishery). Like all fisheries here the budget has been slashed and dfo no longer is able to do proper surveys.

4) because dfo had no real idea what was in the area the seine fishery was opened way to early and yes that did cause them to have lower quality this year.

5) low percentage in herring is often related more to the male/female count then the size or age of the fish.

6) most of the herring leave the gulf and sit in San Juan or go up the straights. If you think that salmon that are out in the ocean for 4 years and make it here drop dead because they starve to death in the last 2 weeks of the journey your nuts.

7) the big picture is that there was more herring this year than expected...way more and that is coast wide. Barkley sound up, Esperanza up, Central coast up, Prince Rupert up. So stop tying to shut down fisheries you obviously know very little about.

yes there was tons of roe in Vancouver left over....want proof...if the demand is up it because there is little good quality to buy....no surveys no fishing....east coast cod ring a bell....the gillnet fleet had a huge male to female count thus low roe count.....as far as herring in the straits goes of course the mature herring leave....anyone knows that....the hatch and juveniles are what matters....as far as tons of herring why are most other traditional herring fisheries shut down due to lack of fish coast wide...you need to get some accurate info then start posting....

 

[fish4all]

Herring spawning again in False Creek

By Stephen Hume, Vancouver Sun April 1, 2009

VANCOUVER - Silvery hordes of Pacific herring, one of the key indicator species for the health of intertidal habitats, have begun spawning again along the once-toxic shoreline of south-east False Creek.

John Harper, marine scientists who is assessing the shoreline modification program constructed in front of the athlete's village site, found the evidence at low tide last Monday.

"We stumbled across it about 3 p.m.," he said. "There is an incredible herring spawn on this shoreline. It was every place. It seemed to coincide with their (city of Vancouver) habitat restoration and shoreline rehabilitation.

"My guess is that there was a kilometre of spawn," said the scientist.

"This is a really good news story. What an incredible event."

Harper said that when he examined federal department of fisheries and oceans records available online, he could find no official record of similar spawns, at least not in the modern era.

Although there was once an extensive herring fishery in the waters immediately around Vancouver supplying smoked kippers, over the past century, False Creek's shoreline was extensively modified with landfill and industrial development which left toxic contaminants in soil and sediments.

The herring departed, so evidence that they are returning to a site of artificially-restored habitat is a major environmental success story.

Pacific herring deposit their jelly-like spawn in shallow water and it often sticks to seaweed and kelp fronds. That's precisely where Harper found it, clinging to seaweed which had grown on the rocks and gravel of an artificial island built under the federal government¹s ³no net loss² policy for development which interfered with habitat.

"This habitat was all created as part of the shoreline restoration and waterfront walk development," Harper said. "Part of the development was creation of a habitat island." The small island, roughly the size of four tennis courts, was constructed as compensation for changes to the foreshore made during the city¹s remediation program for the terrestrial landscape said Robin Petri, a city engineer and manager of the project. She said development began in 2005. Part of the rehabilitation work involved changes to a shoreline that had already been ³totally modified² by historic development.

So the city built a long narrow tidal island at the end of a constructed wetland that treats storm runoff from the adjacent remediated lands. It becomes an island only at the highest of high tide. Apparently, it established a stretch of viable new habitat for marine life.

Harper says he was checking out the island when he spotted what looked like herring spawn on the first little spur of exposed beach that he saw.

"None of this shoreline existed a couple of years ago," he said. "The seaweed got onto the rocks and established itself and then the herrring came to spawn on it. A kilometre of spawn is pretty good.² Herring comprise one of the most important food fishes, both for humans and for many animal species including salmon, sea lions, seals, porpoises, eagles, gulls, mergansers, cormorants and other diving birds.

During the annual March spawning along the east coast of Vancouver Island, almost 100,000 marine birds were counted in less than one kilometre of coastline by one wildlife biologist.

Herring roe on kelp fronds was and remains a traditional delicacy for first nations along the coast and there is a commercial fishery for Pacific herring roe, which is a high-priced commodity in Japan where it is typically used in making sushi or as an appetizer and is also eaten as roe-on-kelp.