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Brokenrod
Guest
What is the latest word on the major spawn? Anyone have any info? Looking to do some jigging!
fishingbc
Active Member
Get out there....walked dog along the shorline around Deep Bay, Bowser, Nile Creek and down the the Qualicum First nation campground (Big Q )....tons of herring everywhere....that was at the low today...sealions feeding like it was the last meal ever....withing twenty feet of the shore....anyone that hasn't seen should come up this way just for the visual of the millions of birds and thousands of sealions, seals, and everything else that feasts on the massive biomass of herring here now....two areas of fresh spawn that I saw....maybe a mile in length....talked with contacts on the Canfisco barge and several skippers on the survey boats...roe is at 7.5%...those were all from Lambert Channel and around the Chrome Island Light Station (Denman Hornby)...it will be a few more days at least before anything happens
Does that mean they let a few spawn before they scoop them out? The survey boats do they monitor the spawn and if it a certain magic number is hit they let the fisher go ahead? Interesting stuff. I'd like to learn more about the herring fishery. Aren't there even Japanese harvesting the roe?
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Brokenrod
Guest
Thanx Gill,I'll be out Sun. for sure!
Great info, I thought they were just bait fish
I think I'll do a bit of research myself. I wonder if they just drift around with the tides and temperatures etc or if they have actual orientations similar to salmon - i.e. why is the Gorge so dead and other areas that were dead are now flooded. Can specific areas be fished out permanently like CR and most of Johnston Straights or is that feed and temperature related? Interesting.
Klob
Well-Known Member
Sorry to be a downer, but here is my spin:
Chris-The decision to open fishing depends if large corporations who own most of the fish farms,herring liscences,boats, processing plants and the current governments, feel like fishing.
20% of the yearly biomass is DFO's target.The track record for DFO to come up with any accurate count on anything speaks for itself. With the efficiancy and capacity of the current killing machines,an extra half an hour in an opening can be catastrophic.
I'am no marine biologist, but I believe the reason for the reduced size of the herring is the larger brood stock are decimated every year.
Remember that only 50% produce eggs,take the eggs away and you have all the fish feed and dog food you need.
The economic spin off filters down to a privilaged few,for a couple of weeks.
We are going to have a hard time explaining this one to the grandchildren.
This of course is only my opinion, and if anyone feels this is innacurate,please let me know.
Klob
Chris-The decision to open fishing depends if large corporations who own most of the fish farms,herring liscences,boats, processing plants and the current governments, feel like fishing.
20% of the yearly biomass is DFO's target.The track record for DFO to come up with any accurate count on anything speaks for itself. With the efficiancy and capacity of the current killing machines,an extra half an hour in an opening can be catastrophic.
I'am no marine biologist, but I believe the reason for the reduced size of the herring is the larger brood stock are decimated every year.
Remember that only 50% produce eggs,take the eggs away and you have all the fish feed and dog food you need.
The economic spin off filters down to a privilaged few,for a couple of weeks.
We are going to have a hard time explaining this one to the grandchildren.
This of course is only my opinion, and if anyone feels this is innacurate,please let me know.
Klob
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haverodwilltravel
Guest
The economic spin off filters down to a privilaged few,for a couple of weeks.
We are going to have a hard time explaining this one to the grandchildren.
....Klob, totally agree with you. A few people benefit and who bears the cost?
1) the fish stocks are hurt and therefore.....
2) the Recreational Sports Fisherman hurt
3) the Commercial salmon fishermen hurt
4) the Indians hurt
I remember there used to be lots of resident coho and springs around Qualicum, why??? Because there was sufficient feed so the salmon didn't have to search. Things have changed since then because they overfish the herring.
We are going to have a hard time explaining this one to the grandchildren.
....Klob, totally agree with you. A few people benefit and who bears the cost?
1) the fish stocks are hurt and therefore.....
2) the Recreational Sports Fisherman hurt
3) the Commercial salmon fishermen hurt
4) the Indians hurt
I remember there used to be lots of resident coho and springs around Qualicum, why??? Because there was sufficient feed so the salmon didn't have to search. Things have changed since then because they overfish the herring.
The coho issue isn't all overfishing - or least not directly of the coho. The shrimp blooms were the first to go in the Georgia Straight (I recall serious concern over brown algae which sucks the life out of the ocean), then the herring, then the Springs, then the coho (maybe not exactly that order.) Oh ya, the cod stocks at all levels. There must be more to it than that and both water temperature and environmental disaster starting with the micro-organisms must have had a huge impact.
The Georgia Straight coho disappeared in one season - or actually between seasons, they simply didn't show up the next year.
It might be more accurate to refer to it as over-strip mining or clear-cutting the ocean. Everything from the krill, shrimp, urchins, sea cucumbers, cod stocks, salmon...the list goes on. All of those once provided the entire marine "bio-mass" as it appears to be called that supports the whole system.
The Georgia Straight coho disappeared in one season - or actually between seasons, they simply didn't show up the next year.
It might be more accurate to refer to it as over-strip mining or clear-cutting the ocean. Everything from the krill, shrimp, urchins, sea cucumbers, cod stocks, salmon...the list goes on. All of those once provided the entire marine "bio-mass" as it appears to be called that supports the whole system.
Klob
Well-Known Member
Was refering to the 100 ton slaughter in Qualicum. Always appreciate your input and you seem well informed, please do not take it so personally. I would just rather the government pay these guys to stay home, like they do for the other 50 weeks of the year. That way the Pizza joints, bars, taxis and laudramats would still reap the benifts.
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Brokenrod
Guest
Anyone heard where the latest spawn is?
