Finished Business
Well-Known Member
I wanted to share a few videos that were recently shown to me. The videos detail both the destruction of what creosote pilings do to herring eggs, and what kelp wrapped pilings do to save the eggs. It was a real eye opener for me so I had to post them.
The more I learn about the ocean, the more I've come to realize just how important bait fish are to the ecosystem. It seems straight forward that ya, lots of bait + lots of fish = lots more fish, but its something I hear in passing and never have put too much thought into it unfortunately. I'm sure many others have but I'm sure just as many have brushed over it as I have.
But becoming more self-educated (I have no formal marine education), and spending lots of physical hours on the water in the last two years, I can see just how these fish (herring, anchovy ect) truly impact the health of the living marine environment. And now I know more herring usually means more salmon, if man doesn't impact either stock harshly. There is so much talk about salmon enhancement hatcheries, stream keepers ect. and those all clearly have their place. But it seems that herring enhancement is much the same if not more important than salmon enhancement as one directly impacts the health of the other.
Which leads me to my points, and these great videos. Its been long known that creosote pilings kill herring eggs, 100%. But in recent years, maybe more than I know, an effort has been made to wrap these pilings with a kelp based material I believe, and as a result, where the wrapping has been done, the abundance of herring eggs that attach to the wrapped pilings is uncountable! Once the wrapping stops, there is not one living egg to be seen. Further to the eggs themselves hatching, other species, crabs, perch and other shore life feed off this excellent food source and thus the circle of life goes on.
So with so many derbies each year benefiting salmon enhancement, wouldn't having a salmon derby in the name of herring enhancement make just as much sense, or some other fundraiser for the same cause? If a boat load of kelp wrap could be bought and applied to every piling and his brother, wouldn't we be looking at herring returns at an unprecedented amount? Is too many herring a bad thing?
As always, curious what other people think or if something like this is already in action?
*These are not my videos, but made by a local Vancouverite I assume, John Buchanan. Big thank you for his efforts. Great videos. Shocking results!
3 videos in next posts.....
The more I learn about the ocean, the more I've come to realize just how important bait fish are to the ecosystem. It seems straight forward that ya, lots of bait + lots of fish = lots more fish, but its something I hear in passing and never have put too much thought into it unfortunately. I'm sure many others have but I'm sure just as many have brushed over it as I have.
But becoming more self-educated (I have no formal marine education), and spending lots of physical hours on the water in the last two years, I can see just how these fish (herring, anchovy ect) truly impact the health of the living marine environment. And now I know more herring usually means more salmon, if man doesn't impact either stock harshly. There is so much talk about salmon enhancement hatcheries, stream keepers ect. and those all clearly have their place. But it seems that herring enhancement is much the same if not more important than salmon enhancement as one directly impacts the health of the other.
Which leads me to my points, and these great videos. Its been long known that creosote pilings kill herring eggs, 100%. But in recent years, maybe more than I know, an effort has been made to wrap these pilings with a kelp based material I believe, and as a result, where the wrapping has been done, the abundance of herring eggs that attach to the wrapped pilings is uncountable! Once the wrapping stops, there is not one living egg to be seen. Further to the eggs themselves hatching, other species, crabs, perch and other shore life feed off this excellent food source and thus the circle of life goes on.
So with so many derbies each year benefiting salmon enhancement, wouldn't having a salmon derby in the name of herring enhancement make just as much sense, or some other fundraiser for the same cause? If a boat load of kelp wrap could be bought and applied to every piling and his brother, wouldn't we be looking at herring returns at an unprecedented amount? Is too many herring a bad thing?
As always, curious what other people think or if something like this is already in action?
*These are not my videos, but made by a local Vancouverite I assume, John Buchanan. Big thank you for his efforts. Great videos. Shocking results!
3 videos in next posts.....
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