Cuba Libre
Well-Known Member
And then we wait for the NGOs to post "say no to sport fishing for salmon to save the whales" ????
Capt_Ed
Crew Member
Your absolutely right "lots of people don't know what's going on out there", especially the ones that wrote this article. Although they probably do know, but to write it the way they did makes there cause more viable. Having spent 35 years as a commercial fisherman and the last 10 years of that career directly involved in the politics of that industry now the last 14 years in the Sport industry including 10 years running a lodge I see very well both sides of the fight between Sports and Commercial. The two sides need to find a way to get together and set some common goals because neither side is going to win the way they are going . There is power in numbers people and DFO will listen a lot more if both groups came to them with a common goal. I have tried to stay out of the politics since becoming a sports fisherman and have mostly not been too verbal when I read articles about how the commercial industry is decimating certain stocks but something made me write a bit today. Maybe it was the picture of the big herring set, and the fact that I'm 95% sure that's my old seine boat in the picture.
I also was commercial fishing and saw what was happening out there. I could just never justify roe herring fishing. Why could you when you see only a select group of people like Jimmy P. getting real rich. Yes I it makes for a few jobs but in the end your taking a very important part of the food chain for a little roe sack and for all intensive purpose waisting the rest. Gone are the days of going to Porlier Pass and jigging a bucket of herring in a few minutes. Chemainus harbour used to be boiling with herring. I was a troller so sorry Capt. a seiners way of thinking is way different than a salmon troller.
california
Well-Known Member
That is the heart of the problem. The biomass is within an acceptable limit, which only means with the population at its present level, they can catch what they caught this year, and about the same number will come back. It does not mean the population is as large as it should be, or needs to be to sustain a healthy ecosystem. Only that the depleted overall population can continue being exploited at the rate it currently is, so 1/2 of the catch can go to reduction, and the other half has only the eggs extracted and the other 80% of its body can also go to reduction It ignores local populations that have been wiped out, it ignores what could be. There is no justification for a fishery that wipes out hundreds of millions of forage fish just before they spawn.
Charter Tofino
Well-Known Member
Not sure how anyone can support this fishery. The “well the SOG herring biomass is stable” argument ignores the valid points made above and more.
fish4all
Well-Known Member
NANAIMO — Repeated calls to shut down the final commercial herring fishery on the west coast were rejected by the federal government.
Courtenay-Alberni New Democrat MP Gord Johns challenged minister Jonathan Wilkinson in the House of Commons Thursday on the need to close the fishery in the Strait of Georgia due to a lack of supply.
Johns said herring are a critical part of the area's ecosystem, providing a food source for local salmon, which in turn feed endangered southern resident killer whales.
“If a moratorium is not enforced to protect this critical food source and to allow the stocks to rebuild, we're endangering this interdependent species,” Johns said during Question Period.
Johns said 32,000 British Columbians signed a petition to shut down the Salish Sea's commercial herring fishery.
Minister Wilkinson responded by stating the Strait of Georgia herring stocks are abundant and the fishery will go ahead, adding regulatory decisions are based on science.
The DFO has closed the other four west coast zones where the fishery existed in past years.
Brenda Spence, the DFO's regional pelagics coordinator, told NanaimoNewsNOW about 28,000 tons of herring will be allocated for this year's commercial herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia. She said a maximum of 20 per cent of the herring can be caught, noting the quota is rarely met.
Spence said around 200 boats involved in the annual fishery hit the waters between Comox and Nanaimo in late February or early March for the catch lasting upwards of two weeks.
The Association of Denman Island Marine Stewards claimed the overwhelming amount of herring caught in the annual fishery is used as food at salmon farms and for pets.
Courtenay-Alberni New Democrat MP Gord Johns challenged minister Jonathan Wilkinson in the House of Commons Thursday on the need to close the fishery in the Strait of Georgia due to a lack of supply.
Johns said herring are a critical part of the area's ecosystem, providing a food source for local salmon, which in turn feed endangered southern resident killer whales.
“If a moratorium is not enforced to protect this critical food source and to allow the stocks to rebuild, we're endangering this interdependent species,” Johns said during Question Period.
Johns said 32,000 British Columbians signed a petition to shut down the Salish Sea's commercial herring fishery.
Minister Wilkinson responded by stating the Strait of Georgia herring stocks are abundant and the fishery will go ahead, adding regulatory decisions are based on science.
The DFO has closed the other four west coast zones where the fishery existed in past years.
Brenda Spence, the DFO's regional pelagics coordinator, told NanaimoNewsNOW about 28,000 tons of herring will be allocated for this year's commercial herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia. She said a maximum of 20 per cent of the herring can be caught, noting the quota is rarely met.
Spence said around 200 boats involved in the annual fishery hit the waters between Comox and Nanaimo in late February or early March for the catch lasting upwards of two weeks.
The Association of Denman Island Marine Stewards claimed the overwhelming amount of herring caught in the annual fishery is used as food at salmon farms and for pets.
Fishmyster
Well-Known Member
I would consider this a win for all fishermen with not allowing fisheries to be closed based on public desire or popularity!
Fishmyster
Well-Known Member
With consideration of the starfish die off, recent oyster hatching issues from acidified inside waters, die off of all kinds of small unharvested marine animals and global insect decline, common sense tells me it is not DFO’s fault that there has been such a reduction in fisheries productivity. It unfortunately has happened naturally.
If herring populations are able to grow with the present harvest allowances then I say let the fishermen utilize that resource. Just like us rec anglers utilize a variety of fisheries.
Charter Tofino
Well-Known Member
Here are some questions I brought up in discussions last year. Most are tough to accurately answer but they at least address some of the factors being ignored.
Are the historical and current population assessments accurate?
Are the historical and current population assessments accurate?
- Was there any data collected that could accurately measure BC’s Herring stocks before over harvesting in the 1940s-1960s caused the population crash?
- Have technology advancements in the last 4-5 decades resulted in more efficient biomass assessments and an overstated population rebound?
- If stocks have rebounded significantly in recent decades, where are the inshore Herring that were common in the Salish Sea during the 80s and 90s?
- It’s undeniable that the annual removal of tens of millions of pounds of a keystone species will negatively effect the ecosystem but can we measure it in any meaningful way?
- If so, can we measure it against the benefits of the commercial Herring fishery?
- The predation of Salmon by Pinnipeds and other species has been identified as a major cause of ocean mortality. The majority of these predators also rely heavily on Herring so is there a link to the removal of Herring and high predation rates?
- Can we measure this and is it a serious concern?
- Has the historical size and age changed and if so what are the effects of this?
- Does pre spawn removal impact those species that rely on the roe and larval Herring?
- What is the state of other baitfish species (Needlefish etc) in the Salish Sea? If their numbers are down has the importance of Herring increased?
- Pilchards had become a major food source on the west coast from the late 1990’s to 2011 and is their disappearance increasing species reliance on Herring stocks.
Last edited:
SerengetiGuide
Well-Known Member
Ironic Wilkinson says decisions are made on science when so many he has made in regards to SRKW aren't based on science but more public perception etc.
fish4all
Well-Known Member
Excellent point. The engo keyboard warriors are attacking all resource based industries on the coast. Too many sheep with misinformation that would throw hardworking people and the communities they support under the bus over how they “feel” as opposed to facts.
There are two other areas on the coast that have an abundance of herring and are being kept closed for political reasons.
Charter Tofino
Well-Known Member
What are the other two areas? Any data to support this “abundance”? DFOs #s showed SOG as the only area near historic (post collapse) levels.
california
Well-Known Member
Information from research from UVIC showing the importance of herring in Chinook salmon diets on the Saltwater Forum "what do Spring Salmon eat" thread. Shows why petitions like this one are important, and as sportfisherman, or just citizens interested in improving the ecological health of the coast we should be opposing the wasteful herring fishery.
Last edited:
In the State of California they have been harvesting 4% of Biomass for almost 20 years from a previous harvest of 20% which they found not to be sustaiable. In an attempt to account for potential season-to-season variability in these conditions, the Department has set even more conservative harvest percentages. In 2003, due to exploitation rate concerns, the Department requested a peer review of its fishery management activities. The Department worked with California Sea Grant to assemble a team of scientists with demonstrated expertise in modeling and fish population assessment. A key recommendation resulting from this peer review was that a harvest rate in the range of 10-15 percent would be sustainable and that a lower level would provide a desirable target for stock rebuilding (California Sea Grant Extension Program 2003). Based on this assessment, the Department has continued to recommend low harvest percentages to the Commission, and since the 2010-11 2-9 season, the Department has recommended quotas less than or equal to five percent of the previous season’s estimated spawning biomass. Actual exploitation rates (catch percentages) by the commercial fishery have equaled an average of approximately four percent of the total spawning biomass since the 2003-04 season and have equaled an average of less than 10 percent of the spawning biomass since the 1979-80 season
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
Fixed it
Similar threads
